A local court here on Monday asked the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), which is investigating the recent drugs seizure of over 2,500 kilograms of methamphetamine from a vessel in Indian waters in a joint operation with the navy, to file a fresh affidavit including details of the arrest of the accused among others.
The court was hearing the NCB’s request to remand Pakistani national accused Zubair Derakshshandeh for five days from today. A lawyer representing the accused, B A Aloor, said the court had asked the agency to record whether the arrest was made from Indian waters to decide the court’s jurisdiction. The court will hear the matter again on Tuesday.
 Custody report filed by the agency on May 16 said a drug dealer from Pakistan offered the accused “good money” after the job was completed.
The agency said on May 15 that the actual trade value of the contraband is close to Rs 25,000 crore after the latest assessment, due to the high purity of the seized methamphetamine.
The NCB said the contraband was kept in 2,525 plastic boxes and placed in 132 bags. The net weight of the methamphetamine came to 2,525.675 kg, Valued at Rs 12,000 crore, the NCB initially said it was the country’s biggest seizure of methamphetamine.
Officials had earlier said that the product was packaged so professionally that even if it had been on board the ship for a long time, moisture would not affect the drugs. The agency claimed that the latest shipment of more than 2,500 kg of methamphetamine was destined for India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives from Afghanistan.
The drug cache was on a “mother ship” a large ship that distributes narcotics to various ships during its journey off the Makran coast around Pakistan and Iran, it said. 132 bags of suspected methamphetamine, the seized boat and some other items rescued from the ship along with the Pakistani national were taken to Mattancherry Wharf and handed over to the NCB Navy.
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