Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing criticism from politicians, civil society, and journalists after $3b worth of heroin was recovered from his friend’s port in Gujrat.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), on September 15 seized 3,000 kg of heroin worth from Mundra port of Gujrat, India. The port is operated by Gautam Adani, a very close friend and financier of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Politicians, civil society, and journalists took it to social media to raise questions on pin drop silence of the Modi Government on the biggest-ever single drug haul in India, that too from the port managed by his friend. Some sources claim that Modi also has a 25% share within the port, which has raised many eyebrows, with fingers pointed at the premier for selling drugs within the nation.
Details of the consignment:
According to the Times of India, two containers were shipped from Iran to the port operated by the Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited.
The details of the shipment as shared by a source in DRI are as below:
- The heroin is suspected to have been shipped from Afghanistan to India via Iran
- One container had 1999.57 kg heroin
- Second container had 988.64 kg of heroin
- international street value of the seized narcotics is around Rs 7 crore per kg
- The total estimated value of the seized drugs is over Rs 21,000 crore in the international market
About Gautam Adani:
Gautam Adani comes from Modi’s constituency, the western state of Gujarat. He was a key supporter of Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party as it rose to dominate national politics. He is the owner of almost one-fourth of the cargo motion within the country and manages 13 homeports in seven maritime states, namely:
- Gujarat
- Maharashtra
- Goa
- Kerala
- Andhra Pradesh
- Tamil Nadu
- Odisha
Indian opposition lashes out at Modi government
The news of the confiscation of narcotics from the Mundra port took over the social media conversations and the politicians, journalists and members of the civil society strongly criticized the Modi government and Adani Group.
India’s opposition parties have lashed out at the Modi government. The Congress attacked the Centre inquiring how such a drug syndicate was operating in India “under the nose of the government” as well as the Narcotics Control Bureau.
Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala claimed that the Mundra Port had witnessed the world’s largest narcotics bust to date and further alleged that the same company whose drugs were recovered earlier this month imported 25,000 kg of the same types of drugs worth Rs 1.75 lakh crores in June 2021 through the Adani port.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera while addressing a press conference said, “Why is Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, who is from Gujarat, unable to break this drug syndicate.”
Mentioning the hike in smuggling cases in India, he added, “This will not only destroy the future of the youth of India, but it is the potential funding route for the terrorist organizations globally.”