A special court in Ahmedabad on Tuesday remanded in the custody of National Investigation Agency till April 4 four people held in connection with the September 2021 rpt 2021 seizure of 2,988 kg of heroin from Mundra port in Gujarat's Kutch district.
These four, including two Afghanistan nationals, were among the nine accused who were remanded in custody till March 29 by Special Judge Shubhada Baxi.
"Two of these four accused were in constant touch with the wanted accused and helped unload and purify the June 2021 consignment. The two Indian accused among the four had procured this heroin in bulk and sold it at a higher price," special public prosecutor Amit Nair said.
"Five of the remaining nine accused were sent to judicial custody. All the accused were brought here from Punjab where they arrested by the police there," he added.
As per the probe agency, a consignment of heroin, concealed as 'semi processed talc stones' was seized at Mundra Port on September 13 last year, while a probe found that a consignment was shipped earlier in June as well, with both offences being investigated together.
The NIA recently filed a charge sheet against 16 people, including 11 Afghanistan nationals and one Iranian, six of whom have been shown as wanted, under IPC, NDPS and UAPA provisions.
The consignment seized on September 13 last year was exported from Kandahar in Afghanistan through the Bandar Abbas Port of Iran, as per the probe agency.