CNN-IBN
Mumbai, Jun 5: India's financial capital, port city and the trade gateway on the West Coast - Mumbai has been the centre of trade for a long time.
The city's vulnerable West Coast is fast earning the dubious distinction of being India's drug gateway.
As Saturday's huge drug haul proves, Mumbai's ports have also become the entry and exit point for narcotics.
The Narcotics Control Bureau sleuths on Saturday seized 200 kg of cocaine worth Rs 90 crore from a foreign ship at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust. The narcotics were seized from a container that arrived on a ship, sources said.
The container belonged to Maersk Sealand and the consignment came in on a ship registered in Latin America.
So how do drug cartels use containers to bring in contraband?
First, the drugs are stashed into the corner of large containers and the rest of the container is filled with normal trade-able commodities like textiles.
The container then passes through cursory security checks and is loaded onto trains and trucks, which are to be taken inland.