CBN teams arrested three suspects in back-to-back operations near Lucknow and Barabanki.
Crude heroin was concealed in a specially fabricated fuel tank and a secret chamber inside a truck.
Highlights
- CBN seized a total of 18.64 kg of crude heroin in Operation Black Hawk.
- Three suspects linked to an inter-state trafficking network were arrested.
- A Hyundai Creta yielded 16.48 kg of crude heroin hidden inside a modified fuel tank.
- Another 2.16 kg was recovered from a secret chamber in a heavy commercial truck.
- The contraband allegedly originated in the North-East and was being transported to Uttar Pradesh.
- CBN is investigating the network’s suppliers, financial links and downstream distribution channels.
The Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN) has busted an inter-state drug trafficking network and seized 18.64 kg of crude heroin during back-to-back operations near Lucknow and Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh. Three suspects have been arrested as part of Operation Black Hawk, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday.
According to the ministry, the operation was launched after the CBN’s Madhya Pradesh unit received specific information about suspected drug movement from the North-East towards Lucknow. Joint teams of the CBN’s MP and UP units set up surveillance along the Sultanpur-Lucknow Highway on the intervening night of August 20 and 21.
After tracking a vehicle through multiple toll plazas, officials intercepted an Assam-registered Hyundai Creta near Lucknow on August 21. An initial search did not reveal any contraband.
However, officials became suspicious after questioning the occupants, who reportedly said that the vehicle had been refuelled four times while covering around 500 km. Officers then conducted a tapping test on the fuel tank and detected signs of a hollow section.
The vehicle was taken to the CBN office in Lucknow, where the fuel tank was dismantled with technical assistance. Officials discovered a specially fabricated compartment containing 25 waterproof packages. The packages contained 16.48 kg of crude heroin, according to the ministry. Two suspects were arrested.
In a separate operation, the CBN’s Uttar Pradesh unit received intelligence about a heavy commercial truck allegedly carrying contraband along the Siliguri-Lucknow corridor.
CBN teams tracked the truck through several toll plazas before intercepting it near Barabanki. A detailed search uncovered a secret chamber built into the vehicle’s body frame, from which officials recovered another 2.16 kg of crude heroin. One suspect was arrested.
The ministry said the seized drugs originated from a North-Eastern state and were being trafficked for consumption in Uttar Pradesh.
All three suspects have been booked under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. Both vehicles and the seized contraband have been confiscated.
CBN is now conducting financial and logistical investigations to identify upstream suppliers in the North-East and trace downstream distribution channels connected with the trafficking network.
