Drug dealing has become very common in Bengaluru. A consignment of 13.2 kg of pseudoephedrine, amounting to around Rs 13 crore, was found buried in photo frames and albums in a consignment bound for Australia from the Bengaluru International Airport, officers of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) stated on Sunday. It is one of the biggest seizings of the narcotic drug this year. The consignment had already reached Singapore before it was sent back to Bengaluru last week, reported a leading daily. It was stopped at Singapore's Changi airport. The origin of the order was in Chennai and it was being shipped by a private courier company.
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An official in Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport stated that they received information about the smuggling of pseudoephedrine but the consignment was already in Singapore by then. Pseudoephedrine is used in the production of several narcotic drugs including methamphetamine. It is notified as a controlled substance under the NDPS Act. Officials said that the consignment sent back from Singapore contained photo frames, albums, bangles and other personal items. The box was meant to look like personal items for a family member in Australia and the drugs were hidden in the consignment, reported a leading daily.
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On examining the items, officials saw that narcotic substances were hidden in the covers of the albums and photo frames which appeared to be thicker than usual. Pseudoephedrine is sold at Rs 1 crore per kg. As per the DRI, 1.5 kg of the substance is enough to obtain a kg of methamphetamine and the substance had become the go-to precursor chemical in the manufacture of methamphetamine in Australia.