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India's darknet drug kingpin busted, drugs, Rs 1 crore in cryptocurrency seized

India's darknet drug kingpin busted, drugs, Rs 1 crore in cryptocurrency seized

India Today4 hours ago
The Narcotics Control Bureau has achieved a major breakthrough by dismantling India's most prolific darknet drug syndicate operating under the alias "Ketamelon", officials said on Tuesday. Two people have been arrested in the operation.The NCB Cochin Zonal Unit conducted the operation, dubbed "MELON", which culminated in the recovery of 1,127 blocks of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and 131.66 grams of Ketamine contraband, apart from digital assets worth Rs 70 lakh.advertisementThe seized contraband drugs have an estimated street value of approximately Rs 35.12 lakhs, officials added.
The anti-drug body also seized USDT cryptocurrency worth over Rs 1 crore.LSD is an odourless, colourless and tasteless drug and the person consuming it can lose the sense of time, distance and space, the agency said."This was (Ketamelon) one of India's most prolific darknet drug syndicates. The agency launched an operation codenamed 'Melon' to investigate it after getting primary inputs from the Cochin seizure," an NCB statement said.It also added that Ketamelon had established a widespread network shipping LSD to several major Indian cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Bhopal, Patna, and some cities in the hill states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.Following weeks of surveillance and intelligence gathering, 280 LSD blots were intercepted on June 28 from three postal parcels in Cochin. An investigation into the matter confirmed that these parcels were booked by the suspect. During a search of his house the next day, 847 more LSD blots and 131.66 grams of Ketamine were seized.advertisementThese contrabands were primarily sourced from UK-based vendor Gunga Din, a known reshipper of the globally infamous Dr Seuss (also known as DS or Tribe Seuss) which is believed to be the largest LSD source in the world, the official statement added."Ketamelon" was India's Level 4 darknet vendor, which had been operating in the country for over two years. It had established a widespread network, shipping LSD to major cities across India, with an estimated 600 shipments delivered in 14 months.This came a day after Punjab Police seized a huge amount of drugs in a major operation to crackdown on cross-border narcotics smuggling.Approximately 60.302 kilograms of heroin, valued at around Rs 300 crore, was seized near the international border in Barmer, Rajasthan.The operation was carried out by the Amritsar Commissionerate Police in close coordination with the Border Security Force (BSF) and Rajasthan Police. According to police, the consignment was linked to a Pakistan-based smuggler, Tanveer Shah, and a Canada-based handler, Joban Kaler.The seizure is being described as a major success in dismantling an international drug cartel.- EndsWith agency inputsMust Watch
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