New Delhi

A novel way to smuggle in heroin through bales of thread has been detected with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and ATS Gujarat, in a joint operation, seizing a container at Gujarat's Pipavav port carrying bales of thread.

According to a DRI official, the drug syndicate used this unique modus operandi in which threads were soaked in a solution containing narcotic drug heroin, then dried, made into bales, and packed in bags.

These bags were shipped along with other bags having bales of normal threads so that it would go unnoticed by the authorities, and the treated threads taken out to extract the heroin.

Acting on intelligence, the DRI and ATS checked the container, and out of 100 jumbo bags, four suspicious bags, having a total weight of 395 kg, were found to contain threads showed the presence of opiate derivative, heroin in the field testing done by the regional Forensic Science Laboratory, the official said. The container was carrying 9,760 kg of such thread.