The National Investigation Agency on Thursday arrested two Delhi-based key accused in connection with a case linked to the seizure of 2,988 kg of heroin from Gujarat's Mundra Port on September 13, 2021.
The accused were identified as Harpreet Singh Talwar alias Kabir Talwar and Prince Sharma.
NIA said they were involved in the "smuggling of heroin through import consignments from Afghanistan using the maritime route".
The accused were arrested on the basis of so far conducted investigations and incriminating evidence obtained during the searches by NIA at 20 locations on Wednesday in various states (Delhi-14, Gujarat-2, Punjab-1 and West Bengal-3) in the case.
"The arrested accused are a part of an international drug smuggling network involved in smuggling of large commercial quantities of heroin originating from Afghanistan into India," said the NIA.
"Heroin was being concealed in import consignments of material, such as semi-processed Talc, Bituminous coal etc."
One such consignment of about 3,000 kg of heroin was intercepted and seized at Mundra Port by the Directorate Revenue Intelligence on September 13, 2021.
"The accused persons were involved in the import of narcotics through fake and shell import companies and further facilitated its transport to Delhi-based Afghan nationals involved in purification and distribution of heroin in many states including Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh," said the counter-terror agency. -- ANI