Charas recovery: Probe agencies suspect smuggling through sea route

The arrested have been identified as Aslam Sumra (26) and Abdul Sumra,both residents of Suthri village in Abdasa,a taluka near the India-Pakistan border in Kutch. The duo was arrested following a tip-off with the contraband worth Rs 10 lakh. Later in the day,the Mundra court sent them to eight-day police remand. According to the ATS,Raghu Express Sweet Tomatoes and Garlic Sauce was written in English on one packet,while the language and the matter written on other packets could not be ascertained.

According to sources in the investigating agencies,identical packets indicate that all the incidents are connected,and that the possibility of a large consignment smuggled from across the border with the help of locals has not been ruled out.

Officers in the BSF and the Coast Guard suspect that the contraband is smuggled from Afghanistan via Pakistan and reaches Gujarat through the sea route. They feel the smugglers might have abandoned the packets in the wake of heightened security post 26/11 attacks.

The first packet was found in August,when some tourists recovered some suspicious ‘tomato sauce’ packets at Pingleshwar pilgrimage site. The Jakhau police later handed over the packets to the narcotics department,which found it to be charas.

Later,the narcotics department found 10 kg charas from three different places within a fortnight before the Kutch police recovered another 10-kg packet of charas at Satwara Bet.