The DRI has seized huge quantity of prohibited drugs like Alprazolam and Diazepam among others worth Rs 10 crore from the Foreign Post office (FPO) at New Delhi on May 7.

These drugs, which are abused as narcotics, were mostly in the form of tablets/capsules and packed in small packets, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) said in a statement issued on May 7. These controlled drugs, which were mis-declared as herbal/health products, were destined to numerous overseas buyers located in the US, UK, Cananda and Australia, it said. During operations last week, more than 3.5 lakhs tablets of Amphetamine, Lorazepam, Nitrazepam, Zolpidem, Oxycodone, Tramadol, Alprazolam and Diazepam, having street value of more than Rs 10 crore, were seized, the DRI said.

The Foreign Post Office is very prone to smuggling of prohibited/restricted goods due to less documentation, improper declarations and speedy clearance, it said. Shipments through the FPO have been under close watch of the DRI in recent times and the agency has seized similar export consignments of psychotropic substances in November 2016 wherein total seizure was of more than 17 lakh tablet and 11 persons were arrested in multi-location operation at Delhi, Mumbai, Ludhiana and Chandigarh, the statement said. The DRI has also been successful in unearthing smuggling network in the import section of the FPO, Delhi and seized steroid worth Rs 15 crore and 32 kgs gold concelaed in readymade garments in August 2017.