Mumbai: In a trend indicating a new narcotics trade, 96 Indians were arrested between January and July at the Doha airport for smuggling drugs such as hashish, marijuana, heroin and anti-anxiety drug called Lyrica (Pregabalin).
These Indians, including couples who boarded Doha-bound flights from Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kochi, Kozhikode and Hyderabad airports, face a 10-year sentence under the Qatari law. Apart from these 96 ‘couriers’ who were found carrying 1kg of the drugs hidden within the strap of a handbag, another 200 Indians are already languishing in Qatar jails for similar offences.
These details were conveyed to Indian embassy officials in a meeting held in Doha on July 24 by Major General Abdul Aziz Al-Ansari of the ministry of interior affairs in Qatar and also the chairman of the national counter-terrorism committee.
A note about the meeting’s minutes states that most of the arrested Indians were in Doha for ‘job interviews’.
The Qatari officials also told the Indian ambassor’s office that Qatar may apply the rules reserved for ‘visa on arrival’ for Indians—that is, a confirmed return ticket, a hotel reservation in Doha and a valid credit/debit card with paying capacity for QR 5,000.
The Qatari authorities also raised concerns as to how the couriers were able to breach India’s airport security and anti-narcotics arrangements while they were being detected and arrested in Doha.
It is suspected that authorities felt that there is a nexus between airport staff and the drug smuggler ring.
In response, a high-level meeting was called at the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) headquarters in New Delhi in August that was attended by senior officials of the NCB, DRI, CISF, immigration and a few intelligence and security agencies.
16/10/19 Mateen Hafeez/Times of India
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These Indians, including couples who boarded Doha-bound flights from Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kochi, Kozhikode and Hyderabad airports, face a 10-year sentence under the Qatari law. Apart from these 96 ‘couriers’ who were found carrying 1kg of the drugs hidden within the strap of a handbag, another 200 Indians are already languishing in Qatar jails for similar offences.
These details were conveyed to Indian embassy officials in a meeting held in Doha on July 24 by Major General Abdul Aziz Al-Ansari of the ministry of interior affairs in Qatar and also the chairman of the national counter-terrorism committee.
A note about the meeting’s minutes states that most of the arrested Indians were in Doha for ‘job interviews’.
The Qatari officials also told the Indian ambassor’s office that Qatar may apply the rules reserved for ‘visa on arrival’ for Indians—that is, a confirmed return ticket, a hotel reservation in Doha and a valid credit/debit card with paying capacity for QR 5,000.
The Qatari authorities also raised concerns as to how the couriers were able to breach India’s airport security and anti-narcotics arrangements while they were being detected and arrested in Doha.
It is suspected that authorities felt that there is a nexus between airport staff and the drug smuggler ring.
In response, a high-level meeting was called at the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) headquarters in New Delhi in August that was attended by senior officials of the NCB, DRI, CISF, immigration and a few intelligence and security agencies.
16/10/19 Mateen Hafeez/Times of India
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