NCB busts pan-India darknet LSD trafficking network, students among 6 arrested
Darpan News Desk IANS, 06 Jun, 2023 03:59 PM
New Delhi, June 6 (IANS) The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested six people, including a girl, a student of a private university in Noida and a Jaipur-based mastermind.
The NCB seized 15,000 blots of LSD worth several crore rupees from them.
This is a pan-India drug trafficking network connected to an international chain that primarily operates on the darknet, said officials.
The commercial quantity of LSD is six blots, indicating that the current seizure is 2,500 times higher than this threshold. In addition, 2.232 kg marijuana and Rs 4.55 lakh in cash were recovered, and Rs 20 lakh held in various bank accounts were frozen.
Gyaneshwar Singh, Deputy Director General (DDG), NCB, stated that all the accused were active on the darknet, where they were involved in selling drugs. He mentioned that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to dismantle the entire chain.
Singh revealed that LSD was being sourced from Poland and the Netherlands. The individuals behind the operation would procure LSD in Europe, and then send it to India through shipments. The network also has links with in the US. Once the consignment arrived in India, the accused would distribute it in the National Capital Region (NCR) and throughout the country.
The NCB had been investigating this gang for the past three months. Officials were actively monitoring social media platforms to gather information about the accused.
"The buyers and sellers were both active on the darknet and never disclosed their identities to each other. Buyers would make payments through cryptocurrency, and the consignments would be delivered via courier services and foreign post. Since they operated anonymously, they had no fear of being caught. The buyer and seller would communicate solely through chat on the darknet," explained DDG Singh.
The buyers and sellers would make deliveries on fake addresses and use mobile numbers that couldn't be traced.
After thorough monitoring of social media platforms, a student from a private university in Noida was arrested with a commercial quantity of LSD. Although he was a resident of Goa, he was active in the NCR and involved in peddling LSD. Subsequently, the NCB apprehended another individual in Delhi who was about to send an LSD consignment to Kashmir.
"The NCB then learned about a girl who was active on the darknet. The boy apprehended in Delhi informed NCB officials that he was working for her, and the girl was using a virtual ID. She was apprehended in the NCR. Her interrogation led to the arrest of a mastermind based in Jaipur, who was the brains behind the entire racket. Later, we arrested one more person from Kerala, and an LSD consignment en route to Goa was intercepted midway," said the official.
During the search of the mastermind based in Jaipur, a total of 9,006 blots of LSD, 2.233 kg of imported marijuana, and Rs 4,65,500 in cash were recovered. The Jaipur-based mastermind informed officials that he was overseeing the entire operation of LSD blots on the darknet, specifically Darkweb/WICKR.
"LSD is rapidly gaining popularity among youth, and students are increasingly using it. This synthetic drug, also known as acid trip or bad trip, has become a significant consumer product in India," noted Singh.
The NCB investigation has established that individuals based in Poland and the Netherlands are smuggling LSD blots into India. These blots are small and easy to transport, making it challenging to identify and intercept trafficking. Resembling postage stamps, the blots can be concealed anywhere by buyers and sellers without arousing suspicion.
The Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit of the Delhi Police has arrested four men for stealing data from a government portal and creating a fake website following which they duped more than 1,800 pensioners. The accused were identified as Amit Khosa, a resident of Greater Noida; Kanav Kapoor from Noida; Binoy Sarkar and Shankar Mondal, both from Hyderabad.
Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, claimed on Wednesday that Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena is acting like a 'tribal chieftain to appease his big boss'. While addressing the winter session of Delhi Assembly, Sisodia said, "Baba Saheb (B.R. Ambedkar) had mentioned municipal governance in the fifth entry in List II in the Constitution.
The Republic Day celebrations are going to be a week-long affair commencing January 23, the birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and culminate on January 30, which is observed as Martyrs' Day to commemorate the death of Mahatma Gandhi, said Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane.
The DRI said that most of the recovered gold was concealed in undergarments of the passengers making it extremely difficult to detect. This is a unique modus operandi busted by the DRI, indicating the uphill task faced by its officers on a regular basis to check the syndicates smuggling gold in various forms into the country.
Complainant has stated that they hit the victim with a sword on his head and on both wrists. They attempted to kill and chop off his both hands. In serious condition, the victim was rushed to a government hospital where he is being treated.
The first trip of Ganga Vilas cruise had 32 tourists from Switzerland apart from other countries. Some domestic tourists are also travelling. The cruise vessel has world class facilities including 18 rooms, a 40-seater restaurant, gym, spa, open balcony, lecture hall, internet, television and many other entertainment facilities available.
