The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Friday confiscated 82.53 kilogrammes of high-grade cocaine worth Rs 900 crore in the national capital. The confiscation of the "high-grade" party drug came on a day a joint operation by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Navy and Gujarat ATS led to the recovery of about 700 kg of Methamphetamine off the Gujarat coast. Earlier, the Delhi and Gujarat Police seized 518 kilogrammes of cocaine worth Rs 5,000 crore from Gujarat's Ankleshwar and five people were arrested on October 13. Data shared by the Delhi police shows till October 31, they have arrested 1,268 Narco-offenders in 886 NDPS cases and recovered about 71.1 kgs of heroin/smack, 1293.2 kgs of cocaine, 3241.3 kgs of ganja, 103.7 kgs of opium, 50.5 kgs. of Charas and 80.5 kgs. of poppy head.
According to Deputy Director General (NR) Narcotics Control Bureau, Neeraj Kumar Gupta, two main operatives of the syndicate in India, who are residents of Delhi and Sonipat respectively, have been arrested so far. “Further, the investigations to identify the backward and forward linkages of the drug syndicate and the source of the seized cocaine are underway with the help of foreign Drug Law Enforcement Agencies,” it added.
“The back-to-back major breakthroughs against illegal drugs in a single day demonstrate the Modi government's unwavering resolve to build a drug-free Bharat. The NCB today confiscated 82.53 kg of high-grade cocaine in New Delhi The massive drug consignment worth approximately Rs 900 crore was tracked down by a bottom-to-top approach after a quantity of drugs was seized in a courier center in Delhi,” Shah said. "Our hunt against drug rackets will continue ruthlessly," the minister added. He congratulated the federal anti-narcotics agency on this "major" success of seizing the cocaine consignment.
In a statement, the NCB said in this case, the initial recovery, from a courier shop in Delhi, was from a parcel which was destined to Australia. “NCB was able to backtrack the supply despite "cut offs" to the bulk quantity, which was concealed at Janakpuri and Nangloi, Delhi. Investigation conducted so far revealed that this syndicate is being operated by a group of people based abroad and some quantity of the seized contraband were to be sent to Australia through courier/small cargo services. The persons involved in this case are mainly 'Hawala Operators' and anonymous to each other, using pseudo-names for day to day conversations on drug dealing”, read the statement.
“This seizure was a result of concerted effort made by the team NCB on the leads developed during a previous seizure in the month of March, 2024 and August, 2024. After working on the leads generated in these cases, and through technical and human intelligence, the NCB was finally able to reach at the source of the contraband and 82.53 Kg of high grade Cocaine was recovered from Janakpuri and Nangloi area of Delhi on November 14”, the statement read. “The persons involved in this case are mainly ‘hawala operators’ and anonymous to each other, using pseudo names for day to day conversations on drug dealing,” it said.
The NCB further stated the investigations to identify the backward and forward linkages of the drug syndicate and the source of the seized cocaine are underway with the help of foreign Drug Law Enforcement Agencies. On October 1, the Special Cell of Delhi Police raided a warehouse in Mahipalpur and seized a consignment of 562 kilograms of cocaine and 40 kilograms of hydroponic marijuana.
