International narcotics racket busted with massive MDMA haul, 6 nabbed

In a major blow to an organised international drug trafficking network, the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) of the Punjab Police has busted an international narcotics network operating across the Chandigarh Tricity region and Ludhiana, with the arrest of six key operatives involved in the supply of highly potent, foreign-origin party drugs targeting urban youth, said Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav here on Saturday.

Those arrested have been identified as Rishav, Mukesh Kumar, Lakhwinder Singh, Ravi Kumar, Baljinder Singh and Talwinder Singh.

The DGP stated that the scale of the seizure was unprecedented, marking one of the largest MDMA tablet recoveries in the country.

The seized contraband includes 1,215 MDMA tablets, 263 gm of cocaine, 82 gm of methamphetamine (ICE), 1.2 kg of various THC variants, 16 gm of magic mushrooms and 400 gm of opium, he said, adding that drug proceeds amounting to ?9 lakh were also recovered from the possession of the suspects.

Yadav said preliminary investigation had revealed that the syndicate sourced narcotics from abroad through air courier channels and used encrypted social media platforms to coordinate distribution and evade detection.

ANTF AIG Ashwini Gotyal said the action was initiated following specific human intelligence inputs indicating that a drug supplier, identified as Rishav, was operating from an apartment in Kharar and distributing narcotics within club and party circuits, primarily targeting youth in the Tricity area.

Acting swiftly on the information, police teams conducted a well-planned raid on identified premises, leading to the arrest of Rishav with 1,215 MDMA tablets, 155 gm of cocaine, 82 gm of ICE, 10 variants of THC weighing 973 gm, 16 gm of magic mushrooms, 400 gm of opium and ?3 lakh drug money from his possession.

The AIG said further investigation uncovered a broader distribution module based in Ludhiana, which was functioning as a key supply and redistribution hub for the Tricity region. Subsequent coordinated raids resulted in the arrest of key operatives — Mukesh Kumar, Lakhwinder Singh, Ravi Kumar, Baljinder Singh and Talwinder Singh and 108 gm of cocaine, 278 gm of THC, and ?6 lakh drug money was recovered from their possession, she said.

Gotyal said several of the seized substances were recognised globally as highly potent and dangerous, and had been subject to public health advisories and enforcement warnings in their countries of origin owing to their severe psychological and physiological effects.

A case was registered under Sections 18, 20, 21, 22, 22 (C), 27 and 29 of the NDPS Act at the ANTF police station in SAS Nagar.