Cops bust inter-state pharma drug cartel, nab 5

The Delhi Police have busted an inter-state cartel operating across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, arresting five key traffickers and seizing over 32,000 tablets of controlled substances, an official said on Tuesday.

The team apprehended the accused in a series of raids and seized 18,000 Tramadol tablets (1.8 kg); 7,380 Tramadol capsules (369 grams); 7,400 Nitrazepam tablets (Elza-10); and 505 Alprazolam tablets, with an estimated international market value of over Rs 5 lakh.

The police also seized Rs 1.85 lakh from them, said the official. The arrested accused have been identified as Sudhir (43), Vikas (20), Sunil Kumar Bhardwaj (50), Ajeet Kumar (32) and Ambar Agrahari (43).

According to the police, Sudhir is a repeat offender from Haryana and was earlier arrested by Punjab Police in a similar Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) case in 2019. Police said Sudhir resumed trafficking after his release in 2024. He partnered with Sunil Kumar Bhardwaj in operating two medical stores in Delhi. Bhardwaj, who was linked to the earlier NDPS case along with Sudhir, played a pivotal role in managing trafficking operations and sourcing drugs.

Ajeet Kumar, an MBA graduate and a former pharmaceutical company employee, acted as the key conduit between Gorakhpur suppliers and Delhi markets. Agrahari, son of a wholesale medicine dealer in Gorakhpur, supplied the drugs from Uttar Pradesh and coordinated deliveries through inter-state buses. He was arrested from a hotel in Delhi’s Paharganj, police said.

The case also led to the identification of Vijay Goel, currently lodged in Agra jail in another NDPS case, as a past supplier of Nitrazepam, the officer said.