New Delhi/UNI: Delhi Police’s Special Cell on Tuesday said it has busted an international drug cartel and arrested one Iranian national.

One kilogram of fine-quality heroin worth more than Rs 5 crores in the international market was seized, the police said.

The recovered heroin was smuggled into India from Afghanistan via Iran, according to the police.

The arrested accused was identified as Mohsen Vahedi (29), an Iranian national.

"A narcotics drug supplier was arrested from Sunroof Hotel, Malviya Nagar, Delhi, on January 1, with one kg of fine-quality heroin valued at more than 5 crores in the international market," the police stated.

Due to forthcoming Republic Day celebrations, the Special Cell/Southern Range staff has intensified check-ins in the hotels, guest houses, etc. in the South Delhi area.

During this exercise, Sub-Inspector Ram Kumar of Special Cell/Southern Range, while checking the records of Iranian nationals residing in the hotel Sunroof Residency, Hauz Rani, Malviya Nagar, Delhi, got suspicious of his activities.

Kumar conducted a thorough search of his belongings and subsequently recovered 1 kg of fine-quality heroin from him, the police said.

The accused further disclosed that he was part of a drug supply racket in Delhi-NCR.

Subsequently, a case under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act was registered at the Special Cell against the accused.

During the interrogation of the arrested drug supplier, it was revealed that he was a member of an international narcotic drug cartel and would procure heroin from the Afghanistan-based drug lord Habeeb.

He asserted that the heroin manufactured and smuggled from Afghanistan is of much superior quality and therefore has high demand internationally in comparison to the heroin manufactured from opium in legalised cultivated areas in India.

Efforts are afoot to identify the forward and backward linkages of this narcotic drug network and to arrest other members of this syndicate, the police said.