MUMBAI: Two Malayalees surprised the country by smuggling drugs worth 1556 crores within a week. Vijin Varghese, a native of Ernakulam, was arrested yesterday in Mumbai in the case of smuggling drugs worth Rs 1476 crore hidden in a lemon box. Soon after, Binu John, a native of Kottayam, was arrested by DRI today in Mumbai in connection with the smuggling of heroin worth 80 crores.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence caught Binu John with 16 kg of heroin worth Rs 80 crore in the market. Binu John was arrested following a tip-off. Initially, the bags were checked by DRI but nothing was found. The drug was later found in the trolley bag. More people are said to be involved in the incident.
1476 crore worth of MDMA and cocaine, hidden among oranges, was seized last Sunday while being smuggled through the Mumbai port. The drugs arrived in the name of Yamito Foods International, a company owned by Vijin Varghese, a resident of Ernakulam Kaladi Mukannoor. Large quantities of intoxicating drugs were imported into the country under the guise of importing fruit. Investigating agencies have found that Mansoor Thachamparampil was also involved in drug trafficking along with Vij. An investigation is underway in this regard. They imported fruit from South Africa, Turkey and Brazil. The investigation team has also found that Vij’s brother is a director in More Fresh Exports Company owned by Mansoor.
The drug was transported on a ship from South Africa through the port of Mumbai. According to the DRI, this is one of the biggest drug busts in the country. In connection with the incident, the Excise conducted an inspection yesterday at the Kaladi office of Yammito International Foods. Earlier, the company also imported masks. It is checked whether drug trafficking has taken place under this heading.
After arresting Vij, DRI searched his warehouse in Kaladi and his house in Ayyampuzha. The team was inspected. Fruit was stored here in many boxes. All this was thoroughly checked by the Excise team. Laptops and mobile phones were taken into custody during the search conducted at Vij’s house yesterday. Meanwhile, the container that arrived in the name of his company was checked at Kochi port, but nothing was recovered from it.
Vigin Godown started a month and a half ago
Vijin Varghese was based in Mumbai. He and his friends started the business by exporting masks, PPE kits and other covid related products from India. Within two years, he went into importing fruit. The license was obtained using a rented room in Angamali in the name of an employee named Alvin. Later the business was shifted to Kaladi. The operation of the godown with refrigeration system at Kaladi started a month and a half ago. Fruit was distributed from here to various areas. DRI During the inspection carried out by the team, this information and other things were discovered.
The DRI team conducted an inspection at Vij’s godown
According to their website, the company has offices in Mumbai, Caladi and UAE. Fruit was imported from foreign countries including South Africa. An apple, which costs Rs 200 in the market, was being sold for just Rs 100 at Kaladi Vigin Varghese’s wholesale centre. Prices of other imported fruit including oranges were also low. The information is now coming out that the profit from importing drugs is behind this drop in prices.
