Narcotics worth Rs 27 cr seized

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Delhi Police on Monday busted a major narco network in the Delhi-NCR region with the arrest of five persons. They recovered methamphetamine, MDMA and cocaine worth Rs 27.4 crore from their possession.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah lauded the efforts of the law enforcement agencies.

In a post on X, Shah said: “In line with the Modi government’s zero tolerance against drugs, a major narco network was busted in Delhi-NCR. The NCB and the Delhi Police grabbed the gang by its throat and recovered methamphetamine, MDMA and cocaine worth Rs 27.4 crore and arrested five persons. I applaud the NCB and the Delhi Police for this major breakthrough.”

According to official sources, on receiving an input about an imminent exchange of high-quality methamphetamine in the Chhatarpur area of Delhi, a joint team of the NCB and a special cell of the Delhi Police mounted surveillance on the suspects, leading to interception of a vehicle carrying 5.103 kg of high-quality crystal methamphetamine valued at approximately Rs 10.2 crore.

Five vehicle occupants, including four African nationals, belonging to an influential family of Nigeria have been arrested.

Sustained on-the-spot interrogation and technical backtracking revealed that this contraband was sourced from an African kitchen in the Tilak Nagar area of West Delhi.

Searches at this kitchen led to recovery of 1.156 kg of crystal methamphetamine, 4.142 kg Afghan heroine and 5.776 kilograms MDMA (ecstasy pills) valued at Rs 16.4 crore approximately.

Further, a follow-up search at a rented apartment at Greater Noida led to the recovery of 389 grams of Afghan heroin and 26 grams of cocaine.

Investigation revealed about involvement of this syndicate in facilitating African youth peddling drugs and narcotics and getting student visas for study at major private universities of National Capital Region (NCR) as well as Punjab.

For some of the students, the visa was only a cover for their stay in India whereas they were involved in supplying drugs and Crypto conversions, officials said.

Further investigations to identify the backward and forward linkages of this drug syndicate are underway.