After nearly nine months of speculation, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has officially closed the high-profile case in Vizag where a shipping container was seized and detained at the Visakhapatnam Port in March 2024 on suspicion of carrying drugs. Laboratory tests have confirmed that the seized material, initially flagged as potential narcotics, was inactive dried yeast.
In a statement issued on November 27, the Principal Commissioner of Customs, Visakhapatnam, confirmed the case closure. The CBI submitted a closure report to the Hon’ble Court of Metropolitan Sessions Judge-cum-I Additional District Judge, Visakhapatnam (Case RC 220/2024/E/0004), which the court accepted. Consequently, the container, identified as SEKU4375380, was released to its consignee.
Samples from the container were reportedly analyzed by a chemical laboratory in Delhi. The results confirmed that the substance was inactive dried yeast, not narcotics.
The case dates back to March 21, 2024, when the 25,000-kilogram shipment, packed in 1,000 bags of 25 kg each, was detained as part of Operation Garuda, an international crackdown on organized drug cartels. The container, shipped from Santos Port in Brazil and destined for a private company in Visakhapatnam, was flagged after initial narcotics detection tools suggested the potential presence of drugs mixed with the declared yeast.
Acting on credible intelligence from Interpol, the CBI, with support from the Customs Department, had seized the container and registered an FIR under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Investigators suspected the use of inactive substances, such as yeast, as cutting agents in international narcotics smuggling operations.
With the closure report filed and accepted by the court, the container seized for suspected carrying of drugs in Visakhapatnam Port has been cleared, marking the end of the investigation.
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