Chennai/Delhi: A day after three persons, two of them Sri Lankans, were arrested in Chennai with Rs 45 crore worth heroin in their hideout in Poonamallee, the police claimed that the suspects were being questioned to ascertain if they had links with terror outfits or Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The arrest was carried out in a joint operation by Delhi and Chennai police.
On Sunday, the Delhi police identified the suspects as Mayelerum Perumal aka Mailu, a native of Tirunelveli, Mohammad Razik and his son Jawzeek, both residents of Sri Lanka. During investigations, the police learnt that heroin was smuggled into India from Afghanistan via Pakistan from the Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan borders and concealed inside tins of processed food before being supplied to Sri Lanka.
A special cell of the Delhi police had been looking for Mailu, a notorious drug peddler, for the last several months. In July this year, a consignment of 36 kg heroin was seized and six persons arrested by the Delhi police. Those arrested had said they were being handled by Mayelerum Perumal of Chennai, who was the main link for foreign-based narco-mafias. Following this, a police team worked to locate Mayelerum Perumal for the next four months and zeroed in on him along with the Sri Lankan nationals who had arrived at Poonamallee to smuggle the heroin out.
Approximately, 15 kg heroin concealed inside processed food cans was recovered from them. “Packing a limited quantity of drug in large consignments of processed food cans seldom raises eyebrows and often passes undetected by sniffers or scanners,” the police explained. Mailu is an expert in managing heroin movement into India and from there on as decided by the narco-mafia in West Asia and the Afghan-Pak region, added an officer.
