A drug syndicate network spanning from Bangkok, Thailand, Dubai and New Delhi has been busted with the police making six arrests in the national capital on Saturday. These six men were allegedly smuggling the narcotics in the country through a network of carriers. The profits thus earned were routed abroad to kingpins based in Dubai and Thailand, a police official said, quoted PTI.
The materials seized included high-quality cannabis weighing about 5.7 kg along with three vehicles and two passports, police said. The Delhi cops said the arrest has disrupted a cross-border trafficking module running on the Thailand-India route.
The ‘OG Ganja’ syndicate
Police said the syndicate used to purchase ‘OG Ganja‘ (high quality cannabis) in Bangkok for around Rs 1.5 lakh per kilogram and sold it in Delhi-NCR for Rs 6.7 lakh per kilogram, the report mentioned. Giving further details, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Harsh Indora said the profits from the earnings were allegedly routed through multiple bank accounts to a Dubai-based handler named Ishan.
“Carriers were lured with promises of foreign trips, easy commissions and cash. They were flown to Bangkok, where local suppliers handed over sealed packets of cannabis,” the DCP added.
Once they reached airports in Delhi, Amritsar, Chandigarh or Mumbai, the consignments were delivered to the receivers in India, who would further distribute it.
The accused have been identified as — Mehraj Khan (42), a garment shop owner from Tilak Nagar, Pratap Singh (32), a former travel agent from Nilothi, Anil Kumar Singh (37), a former Bangkok resident from Azamgarh, Surjeet Singh (34), an auto driver from Chander Vihar, Harpreet Singh (27), a carrier from Vikas Puri Extension, and Rajwant Singh (49), an auto driver from Nihal Vihar.
How cops nabbed the syndicate operatives?
The police began the operation on August 26 after they intercepted Pratap Singh and Mehraj Khan in Keshopur Mandi. They were caught with 3.708 kg of narcotics concealed in two cars. They were immediately arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Without any delay, the police then traced a key supplier after interrogating the duo, Anil Kumar Singh, to Hyderabad. Anil was held on Monday. A raid at his native village in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, led to the recovery of another 2.029 kg of cannabis from his car, the DCP said, quoted PTI.
Further probe led the cops to Harpreet Singh, Rajwant Singh and Surjeet Singh from Delhi’s Chander Vihar on Tuesday. These three men actively arranged carriers and facilitated smuggling operations on the directions of Ishan, police said. The department is now tracing the Dubai-based handler and other international links of the cartel.