The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)’s Mumbai zonal unit, which recently seized synthetic drugs worth around ₹3 crore allegedly smuggled to Mumbai by an international trafficking syndicate, is investigating if the accused used dark web and cryptocurrency in their transactions to avoid detection. In the three years till 2022, the NCB had found their use in at least 38 cases across the country, sources said.
The NCB on Friday said it had seized 1.40 kg (2,917 tablets) of MDMA, 1.84 kg of hydroponic weed, and 0.26 grams (24 blots) of LSD during multiple operations and arrested two persons. The narcotics, which came in parcels, had arrived at the Foreign Post Office (FPO), Mumbai, over the past two months from the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK) and the Netherlands and were allegedly meant for distribution in Pune, agency officers said.
The agency took the help of the Customs to sort out the suspected parcels. “An in-depth investigation on the use of dark web and cryptocurrency is being carried out to trace the remaining accused,” a source said.
In one of the operations, the agency learnt that an international syndicate was planning to smuggle multiple exotic drugs from Europe and the US into India. On May 23, a suspected parcel sourced from the UK to Pune was tracked and intercepted at FPO. When the parcel was opened, the agency found 100 blue MDMA tablets and 24 LSD blot papers concealed inside black portable audio systems, sources said. With the help of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, a suspect, S Kashyap, was detained in Pune by the NCB. The probe revealed that Kashyap was allegedly procuring the drugs from his foreign-based handler to get commission and was also involved in their sale in Pune.
In another operation, a lead on a Pune-based gang procuring high-value party drugs from abroad was pursued by the NCB, which led to the interception of a suspected parcel at FPO on July 4. The parcel, which was sent from the US, contained four tin cans having a greenish fibrous lumpy plant product that turned out to be hydroponic weed, the sources said. In its third operation, the NCB intercepted a parcel on July 21 at FPO and seized floral-shaped pink-green MDMA tablets concealed in a battery-operated neck massager and two tin metal food cans.
In 2016, the NCB had, for the first time, detected the use of dark web and cryptocurrency by narcotics traffickers dealing with synthetic ‘party’ drugs, sources said. NCB’s Delhi zonal unit recently busted two international drug syndicates operating through the dark net and using cryptocurrency, arrested 22 people, and seized 29,103 blots of the LSD.
MDMA or methylenedioxy-methamphetamine is a harmful synthetic drug that alters mood and perception. LSD or lysergic acid diethylamide is a harmful psychedelic drug while hydroponic weed refers to cannabis that is grown without the use of soil.
