DRI Seizes 5.753 kg Crystal Meth from Train Passenger

The correct answer is 5.753 kg. The Mangalore Regional Unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence intercepted an Indian national travelling by train from Delhi to Bengaluru and recovered three packets of a white crystalline substance of that weight, suspected to be methamphetamine, from the passenger’s trolley bag. The accused was arrested and later remanded to judicial custody by the competent court set up under the narcotics law. Options A, B and D are wrong because no such weight was reported in this case; they are placed beside the real figure to see whether the candidate has noted the exact quantity. The weight matters in law as well, because the notified commercial quantity for methamphetamine is only 50 grams, and a seizure of this size therefore falls in the gravest category of offence.

The correct answer is the Mangalore Regional Unit. Acting on intelligence, officers of that unit stopped a passenger travelling by train from Delhi to Bengaluru and recovered 5.753 kg of suspected methamphetamine from the trolley bag being carried. Option B is wrong because the Kolkata unit of the agency figured in a separate action of the same period, which dealt with foreign-origin gold smuggled from across the Bangladesh border, not with narcotics. Options C and D name other regional units of the agency that were not involved in this particular case. For the examination, pair the facts carefully: the Mangalore Regional Unit with the crystal meth seizure on the Delhi to Bengaluru train route, and the seizure being made under the narcotics law of 1985.

The correct answer is the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, usually called the NDPS Act. Methamphetamine is treated in India as a psychotropic substance and is regulated by this law, under which possessing, making, selling, buying, transporting, importing or exporting the drug without authority is an offence. The accused in this case was arrested and sent to judicial custody by the competent court constituted under the same Act. Option A is wrong because the customs law deals with duty and goods crossing the border rather than narcotics as such. Option C is wrong because the money laundering law targets proceeds of crime. Option D is wrong because the law of 1940 governs the quality and sale of medicines. Punishment under the NDPS Act depends on the nature of the offence and the quantity seized.

The correct answer is 50 grams. Under the narcotics law the punishment turns on whether the quantity seized is small, intermediate or commercial, and for methamphetamine the commercial mark is fixed at 50 grams. The seizure of 5.753 kg in this case is many times that limit, which is why the offence attracts rigorous imprisonment of 10 to 20 years together with a fine of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. Options A, B and D are wrong because they do not match the notified figure for this drug; candidates often confuse the limits set for different substances, so it is worth remembering that each narcotic has its own small and commercial quantity. Methamphetamine, also called Ice, is a highly addictive synthetic stimulant acting on the central nervous system.