Mumbai, Oct 1 (IANS): The Narcotic Control Bureau has busted yet another international narcotic smuggling racket, seizing a drugs consignment from Hyderabad bound for Australia via Mumbai, a top official said on Friday.

"The contraband has been seized in Andheri... around 4.60 kg of ephedrine, which was sourced from Hyderabad. It was intended to be smuggled to Australia via Mumbai," NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede said.

Following a tipoff, the NCB teams found the contraband hidden inside three mattresses, packed in a carton, in the form of a parcel.

All the mattresses were taken out and after a thorough check, the NCB sleuths recovered the ephedrine concealed in them, he added.

Further investigations are on to trace and arrest the consignor and the consignee and discern the links of the international drug mafia in Mumbai and their connections in other countries, etc.

According to the NCB, ephedrine has a chemical structure similar to amphetamines and it can be used to create methamphetamine, which makes it a highly sought-after chemical precursor in the illicit manufacture of methamphetamine.

In India, ephedrine falls under the Section 9A of he NDPS Act, 1985 and is a Table-I precursor under the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, making it an illegal narcotic drug.