Ahmedabad
Thirteen years after Xie Jeng Fang alias Richard, an international drug mafia, escaped from the custody of Vadodara Police and landed in Hong Kong, Gujarat Police were on a hunt. They soon learned about his whereabouts and brought him to Gujarat on June 24.
A top Gujarat Police official, requesting anonymity, has confirmed that the extradition process of Richard was initiated after the due legal process and he was deported to India, thereafter. “A team was sent to Hong Kong to escort him back”, the official said.
Police sources say Richard was nabbed by Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) from Ahmedabad-Vadodara Highway on April 28, 2008, with 1.5 kg of Methamphetamine, a stimulant drug.
“His interrogation led us to a factory in Savli area of Vadodara. From here, another 110 kg of Methamphetamine worth crores of rupees was recovered. Later, he was sent to Vadodara Central Jail,” the police officer added.
Sources said in April 2011 while being taken to Sir Sayajirao General (SSG) Hospital for treatment, Richard escaped from police custody on a mobike from a nearby snack stall located at the back gate of the hospital.
“It was a well-planned escape. During investigation it had come to light that three persons from Jamalpur in Ahmedabad and Surat had helped him hatch the escape plan”, added a police source.
According to another Gujarat police official, Richard first escaped to Nepal and then crossed over to Hong Kong where he was arrested in 2011. “Since then, we have been trying for his extradition to India. In 2018, we expedited the extradition process and finally managed to bring back to India,” the police official added.
A police source said, “In Nepal, he was arrested by the local police. But here too, he gave the local police a slip and fled to Hong Kong. He then arrested in Hong Kong in a money laundering case.”
“After it came to light during his interrogation that he is a fugitive in a narcotics case registered in Gujarat, Hong Kong police informed India about his arrest”, added a police source.
