Mumbai: Alleged members of international drug cartel in India, Niranjan Shah and his associate Kishore Joshi, arrested by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for alleged involvement in smuggling of narcotics, were on April 10 remanded to NCB custody till April 24 by a local court.

They have been charged with illegally exporting to the United States a consignment containing 565 kg of hashish valued at Rs 5.65 crore in international market.

Prior to producing them before the magistrate, they were taken to hospital for medical test in keeping with the rules laid down by the Supreme Court.

47-year-old Niranjan, close associate of late scamster Harshad Mehta, is already facing a string of cases for alleged role in the multi-crore securities scam and violation of Income Tax Act as well as Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA).

They were arrested on April 9 night under Narcotics Drugs and Pyschotrophic Substances Act (NDPS) after NCB raided many premises, including residence and office of Niranjan and his wife. Incriminating documents were recovered during the raids.

NCB told the court that the investigation was a result of a joint operation involving various countries in different parts of the world into the illicit trafficking activities of Shah and Jitendra Panchal, an Indian national lodged in Federal Detention Centre at Detroit in USA for violation of anti-narcotics statutes including provisions of NDPS Act.

On October 17, Detroit field office of United States Drug Enforcement Agency seized a consignment of 565.2 kg of hashish in Newark, New York, USA. The hashish was concealed in a consignment of pickles exported by Mumbai-based Mahesh Food Products to M/S House of Spice in New York.

PTI