How Instagram, darknet, crypto feature in ‘biggest’ drug bust in decades

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has made its ‘largest-ever’ seizure of LSD or lysergic acid diethylamide, a psychedelic drug also called acid. As per reports, six people, in the age group of 25-28 years, have been arrested for allegedly operating a pan-India drugs trafficking network.

This is possibly the biggest drug bust by the NCB in the past two decades.

How was the drug syndicate running and what has been seized by the NCB? Let’s find out.

How were the drugs bought?

A person involved with the drug syndicate used to approach people on Instagram asking if they wanted drugs.

According to the NDTV report, if the person replied affirmative, then the communication would shift to the private messaging app ‘Wickr Me’.

The payment was made through cryptocurrency, while the drug, mostly LSD, was imported from the Netherlands or Poland, the report added.

LSD, an odourless, colourless, and tasteless drug, gets absorbed on small squares of blotter paper that people lick or swallow.

How did NCB bust the drug syndicate?

The nodal agency received inputs about some people using courier and postal service networks to deliver LSD, reported The Hindu newspaper.

Following this, a special investigation team under the Delhi zonal unit was set up and technical and field surveillance operations started.

A young man from Goa studying at a Noida-based private university, who was under the agency’s radar, said during the interrogation that he ordered LSD through Wickr.

Later, the police identified a supplier selling drugs via the messaging platform, according to the newspaper.

#WATCH | Gyaneshwar Singh, Deputy Director General of NCB gives details about the darknet-based drug cartel busted by NCB, calling it the biggest-ever drug seizure made by the anti-drugs agency. https://t.co/hiX08VFoCA pic.twitter.com/MMmRud7Rba

— ANI (@ANI) June 6, 2023

On 29 May, the man was arrested in Delhi with 15 blots – half the size of stamp papers – of LSD, which he was allegedly trying to courier to a client in Kashmir, reported The Hindu.

After searching the vendor’s residence, the NCB found 650 additional blots of the drug.

NCB deputy director general Gyaneshwar Singh told reporters Tuesday (6 June) that “each blot can be consumed by an individual, usually by swallowing it”, as per Hindustan Times (HT). They can be smuggled between any piece of paper or document and couriered, he added.

Meanwhile, the supplier further disclosed the involvement of a Delhi-based woman. While no drugs were recovered from her, she helped the agency track her accomplice in Rajasthan’s Jaipur, reported The Hindu.

The accomplice was nabbed on 30 May, with the agency seizing 9,006 LSD blots, 2.23 kg of curated marijuana and more than Rs 4.65 lakh in cash from his residence.

According to The Hindu, he had ordered LSD blots on the dark web or darknet and through Wickr.

On his alleged disclosure during interrogation, a contraband of 5,006 blots was intercepted at the India Post office in Bhosari, Pune.

The NCB made two other arrests in Noida and another in Kerala, as per the newspaper.

“The suppliers and consumers intercepted by us had no personal interaction and every contact was on the darknet,” Singh said, as per PTI.

“A trend of young tech-savvy generation getting involved into drug trafficking using digital platforms, darknet and darkweb has emerged and usage of cryptocurrencies and virtual identities is alarming…,” an NCB official was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

The darknet is an encrypted internet platform that is used to anonymously carry out the sale of narcotics, exchange of pornographic content or other illegal activities.

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How much LSD was recovered?

The NCB seized around 15,000 LSD blots, which is 2,500 times the commercial quantity – 0.1 gram.

The drug bust includes 14,961 blots of LSD from international brands “Gammagoblin/Holy Spirit of Asura” and 2.23 kg of curated marijuana.

These drugs were procured from the US, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom and Canada, reported The Hindu.

“This is the “largest-ever” seizure of LSD blots in the country in a single operation. Six youngsters have been arrested till now and we are on the trail of one more such cartel,” the NCB deputy director general said, as per PTI.

“It was a huge network and was spread across Poland, Netherlands, USA, Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. They used cryptocurrency and darknet,” he added. Moreover, about 2.5 kg marijuana, Rs 4.65 lakh and 20 lakhs deposited in bank accounts were also recovered in the haul.

It was a huge network and was spread across Poland, Netherlands, USA, Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. They used cryptocurrency and darknet. 2.5 kg marijuana, Rs 4.65 lakh and 20 lakhs deposited in bank accounts were seized: Gyaneshwar… pic.twitter.com/J1HJhHsFrV

— ANI (@ANI) June 6, 2023

As per Singh, the highest confiscation of LSD (in a single operation) of 5,000 blots was previously credited to Karnataka Police in 2021 and a similar amount was seized by the NCB’s Kolkata unit the following year.

In 2021 as well the NCB had busted a darknet-based drugs trafficking racket which led to the arrest of 40 people.

With inputs from agencies

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