A key operator of the network, Muhammad Hafeez alias Sultan, was recently nabbed by a US drug enforcement authority.

According to sources, Sultan’s network is under the scanner because of its capability to supply large quantity of heroin and its alleged link to the seizure of 18 tonnes of Ephedrine, a precursor chemical used for making the banned narcotic methamphetamine, from a pharmaceutical firm in Solapur in April last year. Sultan’s network allegedly sources heroin from Afghanistan then sends it to lucrative markets in US and Europe via sea routes. The heroin seized off Gujarat coast in July is suspected to have been loaded off Gwadar port, Pakistan, though the supplier’s identity is not unknown yet. The vessel had been then taken to the UAE for concealing the contraband inside specially-made cavities, said the source. The Narcotics Control Bureau has so far arrested thirteen persons in the case, including eight crew members of the ship, who have however not been able to reveal details about who had supplied the heroin, said the source. According to the source, the probe may seek the help of US authorities to verify the suspected role of Sultan’s network.

Muhammad Asif Hafeez, who was arrested in London’s Regent’s Park area, faces extradition to the US.

Hafeez, 58, is alleged to be the head of an organisation spanning Europe, Africa, Asia and North America, that produced and smuggled drugs including heroin, methamphetamine, or crystal meth, and ephedrine.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) in London said it worked with the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to investigate Hafeez after he was allegedly identified as the source of large quantities of heroin being smuggled into Kenya from Pakistan and Afghanistan.

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