8 arrested as NCB dismantles drug manufacturing network

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has dismantled a drug manufacturing network, operating across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, leading to the arrest of

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eight individuals.

The network, engaged in large-scale diversion and illicit distribution of pharmaceutical drugs, is suspected to have international connections.

According to a senior officer, the operation was set in motion in January, when NCB officers intercepted a suspicious parcel at a courier facility in Delhi.

“The package contained 3.6 kg codeine phosphate tablets in loose form,” the officer said.

Officers traced the supply chain to an illegal pharmaceutical manufacturing unit operating in SIDCUL, Haridwar. “The facility was raided and shut down on June 6,” the officer said.

Between January and June, coordinated searches in Delhi and Ghaziabad uncovered additional quantities of illicit substances, including alprazolam, pseudoephedrine, codeine phosphate, thousands of branded NRx tablets and over 130 kg raw materials and loose tablets, the officer added.

Investigators confirmed that the Haridwar-based lab was producing psychotropic substances in bulk for illegal trafficking. The crackdown is part of NCB’s broader campaign to dismantle drug syndicates operating nationally, and across borders.

In May, the NCB’s Amritsar Zonal Unit dismantled a drug diversion cartel after a four-month operation across Punjab, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi.

The operation resulted in the seizure of drugs worth Rs 547 crore and the arrest of 15 individuals.