National

Leaving An Old Haven

Mumbai is no longer the main conduit for Dawood's drug trade

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Leaving An Old Haven
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Though there’s been no let-up in the illegal narcotics trade from Pakistan, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in Mumbai report a drastic fall in drug recoveries. This is a far cry from the ’80s when Mumbai was a major conduit for the narcotics trade. "Today, narcotics is not a flourishing trade in Mumbai," says Joint Commissioner of Police D. Sivanandan. "In the last decade, the routes have changed and Mumbai does not form a major transit point for narcotics dealers."

But that’s perhaps due to the strict vigilance and severe action taken by the NCB in the ’80s, and particularly after the 1993 blasts when the law enforcement machinery tightened all landing and exit points in search of RDX and made it impossible for the traffickers. Also, though he’s still the top operator in Mumabi, Dawood has diverted his core business (drugs) away from the city. Moreover, pictures of one of his many buildings being demolished in Mumbai is proof that officialdom isn’t as friendly towards him as in the past.

It’s the ports in Gujarat and some southern coastal cities that seem to have become the favourite landing and export points. As a result, both the US and the British governments maintain the post of drug liaison officers in India, including in Mumbai. The US, Europe and Africa are the favourite destination for drug-runners. One drug, sources in Pakistan reveal, that’s being exported to Africa is mandrax. This is reportedly being manufactured in and around Mumbai and then smuggled out. However, there have been no mandrax seizures in Mumbai to support this claim. But a few years ago, makeshift laboratories making the drug were detected. The danger is that mandrax, as it comes in tablets, can easily be made to look like a legitimate drug and sent out in bulk.

Informed sources says that another reason for Mumbai being off the narcotics traffic route is that Dawood, who was earlier one of the biggest traffickers, has ceased to use his native Konkan coast for landings. Konkan’s proximity to Mumbai and the virtual lack of patrolling at points like Bassein at the north end of Mumbai had made it a convenient zone for the traffickers. The don has lost the home advantage.

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