(Image source from: PIO man arrested in basmati bags drug smuggling case in Canada)

The lure towards easy money has pushed many towards drugs smuggling. Drug smugglers have taken to camouflaging the restricted good in the sweet-smelling Basmati rice bags that are exported from Punjab.

Indian basmati rice has been helping drug cartels in Canada to push through the contraband in  export consignments.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) have recently seized nearly 96kgs of synthetic drugs in a rice shipment from India. Authorities have also arrested a Punjabi, based in Brampton, along with two other men.

On August 7, the RCMP took three Greater Toronto Area residents under custody for importing over 72.8kg of ketamine and 23.5kg norephedrine illegally. Brampton-based Amritpal Gill, 35 years, is one of the accused in the drugs case. The three men were, however, released later and will appear for investigators on September 2.

According to reports, CBSA officers found ketamine and norephedrine concealed in 500 rice bags from India in a Toronto-bound container at Montreal port. The drugs were cleverly concealed in the rice bags.

Punjab police have been in the look out for drug racketeers due to international pressure from law enforcement agencies, said former Punjab DGP (Prisons) Shashi Kant.

(AW: Pratima Tigga)