NEW DELHI, Jul 19: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday attached two properties of notorious heroin smuggler, Razi Haider Zaidi, 41, s/o Amanat Ali Zaidi, r/o C-17, Okhla Vihar, Jamia Nagar, New Delhi in a case relating to seizure of over 102 kg heroin smuggled from Afghanistan via the Attari border in Amritsar, Punjab.The immovable properties attached today under section 68(F) of the NDPS Act include a residential plot/land measuring 121.35 square metres in Muzaffarnagar, U.P, which the accused Razi Haider Zaidi had purchased in his own name for Rs.4,00,000. The other property is a residential two storied building at Okhla Vihar , Jamia Nagar, Delhi, purchased for Rs. 24,50,000 in the name of the accused’s wife. Both the properties were acquired by the accused Razi Haider Zaidi from the sale proceeds of heroin.Prime accused, Razi Haider Zaidi, was arrested by the NIA on 24-08-2022 and a Charge sheet against him, along with three other co-accused persons, was filed on 16-12-2022 under various sections of NDPS Act, 1985.The drug consignment of a total of 102.784 kg heroin was seized by Indian Customs department on 24th and 26th April 2022. The narcotics, which had reached ICP Attari on 22-04-2022, were found concealed in a consignment of licorice roots (mulethi). NIA investigations revealed that the accused Razi Haider Zaidi was the receiver of this consignment of licorice roots (mulethi) in which heroin was concealed.As per NIA investigations, on the directions of Dubai based absconding co-accused Shahid Ahmed, around 103 kg heroin concealed in the consignment of licorice roots had been sent by Afghan based heroin smuggler Nazir Ahmed Qani, a resident of Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan, and it was supposed to be delivered to accused Razi Haider Zaidi who had handed over 11 lakh rupees in cash to another accused as advance payment of the said consignment.Further investigations revealed that Shahid Ahmed @ Qazi Abdul Wadood had directed Razi Haider Zaidi to collect and deliver heroin consignments from various places in India from time to time who had delivered them to the different associates of Shahid Ahmed. Further, Razi Haider Zaidi had also collected cash around 2.5 crores (approx.) rupees from various states of India, as sale proceeds of heroin. From this, he had taken his share and had channelized some of the drug proceeds into the bank account of Shahid Ahmed. He handed over the rest as cash to Shahid’s brother Azeem Ahmed and other associates of Shahid Ahmed.Prior to the consignment of heroin recovered in the instant case, in February 2022, accused Razi Haider Zaidi, along with accused Shahid Ahmed and accused Nazir Ahmad Qani, also smuggled heroin concealed in licorice roots imported from Afghanistan. Approx. 50 kg heroin was recovered from accused Razi Haider Zaidi by the NCB, New Delhi in case VIII/39/DZU/2022 registered against Razi Haider Zaidi and his associates in which Charge sheet has already been filed by NCB, New Delhi.It has come on record that accused Razi Haider Zaidi is a notorious drug smuggler and supplier and in February 2022, he had imported 640 cans of chemicals through Iran for processing heroin at his rented godown in Muzaffarnagar, UP with the assistance of Afghan nationals sent by the Afghan based accused Shahid Ahmed. The said narcotics were later seized by NCB, New Delhi in a joint operation with ATS, Gujarat.Investigations have also unearthed that in November 2021, on the instructions of accused Shahid Ahmed, accused Razi Haider Zaidi and two of his associates namely Avtar Singh and Mohd. Imran had gone to Ahmedabad twice for collection of narcotic drugs, which they brought to Delhi and Razi Haider Zaidi supplied them to other associates of accused Shahid Ahmed.Apart from the above mentioned instances of drugs smuggling in which accused Razi Haider Zaidi was arrested by different law enforcement agencies, he had successfully smuggled heroin and collected money derived from its sales from various places of Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat etc.Initially, the case (C/W RC-35/2022/NIA/DLI ) was investigated by Indian Customs, Amritsar and later, under directions of the Ministry of Home Affairs, NIA took over the investigations.
