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Father-daughter duo remanded to police custody in drug case

Onkar Singh in New Delhi

Wing Commander (retired) Satnam Shah and his daughter Priya were remanded to police custody for two days by Magistrate Daya Prakash when they were produced before him on Saturday afternoon.

The duo had been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

The Delhi police had seized 150 kilograms of fine quality hashish, worth Rs 10 million in the international market, from their Vasant Kunj residence on Friday. It was one of the biggest seizures by the Delhi police in recent times.

Amod Kanth, joint commissioner of police in charge of the southern range, denied allegations made by some friends of the retired Indian Air Force officer that he and his daughter had been implicated in the case to settle old scores.

"Whenever someone is arrested this kind of allegation is always made. We had received definite information that Shah and his daughter were into the drug racket and had been carrying on this business for some time. We developed the information and made a joint team of the West Delhi and South West Delhi police and decided to raid flat no C9/9663. During the raids we found several suitcases packed with fine quality hashish," he said.

The friends had claimed that the hashish had been found on a nearby vacant plot and planted on the Shahs. "How did the hashish reach his house then?" Kanth asked angrily.

The suitcases, according to the investigating officers, had Korean markings and had in all probability arrived only a few days before the seizure.

Another senior police officer told rediff.com that Shah and his daughter appeared to be a part of an international drug syndicate.

The duo has travelled extensively. They had visited a number of countries including Belgium, Thailand, Switzerland, Germany, The Netherlands, Denmark and France. Shah was running an export business in ethnic items and claimed to be a property consultant as well. Priya, 30, was assisting her father in the business.

But Shah could not explain his lavish style of living and the kind of money he had been earning, up to Rs 700,000 a month. According to the investigators, Shah was trying to hide his drug racket behind the façade of exports.

The police refused to divulge further details. Yesterday they had claimed to have got the telephone numbers of foreigners who had been in touch with Shah. "We can tell you nothing," said the officers.

A retired fighter pilot, Shah had taken part in the 1971 war against Pakistan. He retired in 1978, but had problems in his marital life, with his wife living separately. Though Shah owns two flats in Vasant Kunj, he did not live there. He was living with his sister in Maharani Bagh when the cops caught up with him.

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