Heroin worth Rs 60 crore seized, seven arrested

The Delhi Police has busted an alleged inter-State heroin manufacturing and supply network spanning Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, arresting seven persons and recovering more than 8 kg of the contraband worth around Rs 60 crore in the illicit market.

The operation has led to the arrest of an alleged raw opium supplier from Jharkhand’s Naxal-affected Chatra district, allegedly involved in illegal cultivation of poppy on his agricultural land, police said.

Police have also seized nearly 3.3 kg of chemicals and other raw materials used in heroin manufacture, Rs 12.81 lakh in cash, three SUVs, a motorcycle and equipment allegedly used in production of the contraband.

Investigation has revealed that raw opium was allegedly sourced from Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, processed into heroin at an illicit manufacturing unit in Lucknow and supplied through a network operating across Delhi-NCR and other States, police said.

The operation began on September 16 when a Delhi Police team, acting on specific inputs, intercepted an SUV in Sector 32 of north-west Delhi’s Begumpur and apprehended Laxman Hooda, 58, who had allegedly arrived to deliver a heroin consignment. Police recovered 300 grams of heroin and Rs 3 lakh from the vehicle, which was seized.

The next day, police apprehended an alleged supplier, Anil alias Bhola, 51, from Sonipat in Haryana and recovered 501 grams of heroin from his SUV.

Anil has been previously involved in 12 criminal cases and was arrested in a narcotics case registered at Bhalswa Dairy police station in 2025. He allegedly failed to surrender after being granted interim bail and was subsequently declared a proclaimed offender by a court, police said.

Further investigation, aided by technical surveillance and human intelligence, led the team to a heroin manufacturing facility in Lucknow, where Bablu, 35, was apprehended on October 4.

The raid resulted in the recovery of 6.275 kg of freshly manufactured heroin, along with 2.5 kg of sodium, 787 grams of acetic anhydride and equipment, including a gas cylinder, mixer-grinder, tub, utensils, an electronic weighing machine and other material allegedly used in the manufacturing process.

Acting on Bablu’s disclosures, police traced and apprehended Ruksar Ali alias Raju, the alleged owner of the manufacturing facility, from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, officials said.

On October 6, the team arrested Ajaj Ahmed, 38, from Bareilly with the help of technical surveillance. He allegedly supplied crude opium to Ruksar Ali. Police recovered 501 grams of heroin and a Royal Enfield motorcycle from him.

The investigation subsequently led to the arrest of Mohammad Azhar, 20, from Badaun in Uttar Pradesh on October 16. He allegedly supplied heroin and crude opium to Ajaj Ahmed. Police recovered 551 grams of heroin, Rs 9.81 lakh in cash and an SUV from him.

The final link was traced to Chatra district of Jharkhand, where Prakash Kumar, 31, was arrested on October 18. He allegedly supplied raw opium to the accused and was involved in illegal cultivation of opium poppy on his agricultural land, police said.

With these arrests, police claimed to have dismantled the alleged network spanning raw opium cultivation, procurement of raw materials, heroin manufacturing and distribution.