arrested two British nationals in Delhi recently and seized three courier packets with 'charas', which was bound for the Netherlands.

Courier companies and post offices are being increasingly targeted by drug traffickers to send out contrabands from the country since tracking the sender is difficult, anti-narcotics officials say. Officials point out that though traffickers earlier used more human couriers and sea routes to send out narcotic drugs, recent cases which various agencies have busted, show that sending out drugs through couriers and even post offices has now become a preferred option for many.
"They are being used more because it is difficult for an agency to get hold of the sender. The sender can give a false address and make a good escape. In case of human couriers, they can be arrested and investigating further linkages is easy," a top Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) official said. The agency had recently intercepted and seized a courier truck carrying a consignment of VCDs and DVDs of devotional music and films in Ludhiana which was bound for Canada via the national capital after it was found to contain around six kg of heroin.
Close on the heels of this case, the Narcotics Control Bureau had also arrested two British nationals in Delhi recently and seized three courier packets with 'charas', which was bound for the Netherlands. "India is not a source market but a transit point. Drugs are procured from neighbouring countries which are then sent out through India. We have asked the courier companies to ensure that they are not used to send out narcotics to foreign countries," a senior anti-narcotics official said.
DHL, one of the world's largest courier firms, said all packets that are send abroad from India are always screened using the latest technology to prevent any misuse.
"As a process, once a consignment reaches Delhi (DHL facility), every shipment sent internationally through the network is necessarily screened using stringent international security measures and sophisticated scanning (Ion scan and X-ray) equipment". One of the biggest seizures by anti-narcotic agencies from a courier consignment in recent past was done by the NCB in the national capital region at Noida. In March this year, NCB raided a call centre in Noida and seized a number of pre-labelled packets of an international courier company with large quantity of banned drugs in it. This was followed by the agency busting a software firm in the capital which was allegedly involved in illegal online trading in pharmaceutical drugs. With the arrest of four person including a postal agent, NCB had seized over 90,000 various regulated and banned tablets valued at over Rs one crore in the international market that were to be smuggled out through post. "Monitoring courier packets being send out becomes tough for anti-narcotics officials. We are in regular touch with courier agencies and keep telling them about steps that could be taken to ensure more safety and alertness," a senior NCB official said.
The DRI points out that responsibility for not allowing contrabands to be sent out through couriers also rests with courier firms. "One just cannot shy away from responsibility. Precautions and steps should be taken by the firms in this regard," a DRI official said.