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Shah could be kingpin of overseas drug racket

Onkar Singh in New Delhi

Three days after the city police arrested Wing Commander (retired) Satnam Shah and his 32-year-old daughter Priya from their Vasant Kunj residence for allegedly running a drug racket, they are in the process of calculating how much the duo is worth.

In an interview to rediff.com, Joint Commissioner of Police (southern range) Amod Kanth said the retired defence officer has over a dozen bank accounts and pieces of property all over India.

"He has one flat in Vasant Kunj, one in Gurgoan, one in Pune, one in Bangalore, one in Bombay and several other places. The magnitude of his real estate has taken us by surprise. In addition, he has a dozen bank accounts. He also has a Swiss account where he has stashed a lot of money," Kanth said.

The officer denied Shah's claim that Rakesh Bhardwaj, an acquaintance, had planted the drugs on Shah.

"Rakesh Bhardwaj was working with Shah as an electrician. Shah claims that this man had a key with him. We are interrogating Bhardwaj," Kanth said. "But we have not given up on Shah. The more we interrogate, the more we find things. The important thing is that someone passed on the information that Shah was dealing in drugs and we found drugs in abundance at his house, in seven suitcases. Isn't that enough?"

Shah, according to the joint commissioner, is a hard nut to crack, and information was trickling in only in bits and pieces.

"It would take some time before the full picture emerges. We have to still look into his two bank lockers," he said.

Shah claims that he is a property consultant and has an export business. But the investigating officials are not willing to buy this.

"This man retired in 1978. For 22 years he has been carrying on with his clandestine activities. He has a lavish lifestyle. He has globe-trotted several times. His daughter has been assisting her father in drug dealings," Kanth said.

"Initially he said he had nothing to do with the drugs. But now he is not saying anything. He knows that his game is up. Since Friday last we have been on the job. We have seized one telephone diary and we would like to confirm the names that were there on that diary," said another senior official closely associated with the investigation.

Since most of Shah's contacts are foreigners, the Delhi police has requested assistance from the Research and Analysis Wing, Intelligence Bureau and INTERPOL. The most important information the police are looking for is whether any of his contacts have been involved in drug dealings.

Kanth feels that Shah could be an important member of an international drug cartel. "150 kg of fine variety hashish is not a small seizure," he pointed out.

The police are still not able to answer some crucial questions: Where did the consignment come from? Did Shah bring it in himself or did someone deliver it to his house? Where was the consignment heading for? What was the role of Rakesh Bhardwaj in the affair?

On Saturday Shah and his daughter were produced before Metropolitan Magistrate Kamani Lau, who has remanded them to police custody for seven days.

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