Drug cartel busted after 4-month long op; 15 held
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has seized drugs worth Rs 547 crore and arrested 15 individuals in a four-month-long operation that uncovered a large-scale drug diversion racket operating across Punjab, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi, a senior official said on Friday.
The crackdown led to the confiscation of over 1.42 crore Tramadol and Alprazolam tablets, 2.9-kg Tramadol powder and over nine lakh bottles of codeine-based cough syrup.
“Bharat is axing down drug cartels with ruthless aggression. The Amritsar Zonal Unit of the NCB axed a drug diversion cartel through a four-month-long operation across four states, seizing drugs worth Rs 547 crore and arresting 15. It is a stride towards building a drug-free Bharat under the vision of PM Narendra Modi. Congratulations to Team NCB,” Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in a statement.
According to the NCB, the investigation began in Amritsar in December 2024, when a man impersonating a doctor was found in possession of thousands of psychotropic tablets. The arrest led to the unravelling of a vast supply network involving fake medical establishments, dummy pharmaceutical stockists and rogue manufacturers.
In a series of coordinated raids on April 20 and 21, NCB teams recovered 11,693 bottles of CBCS and 2.9 kg of Tramadol powder from J R Pharmaceuticals in Haridwar. Another raid at Embit Bio Medix in Himachal Pradesh led to the seizure of 19.25 lakh tablets, while a search at Aashi Pharmaceutical in Delhi yielded 1.17 crore tablets.
“The proprietor of Embit Bio Medix was apprehended at Delhi airport on April 18 while attempting to flee to Vietnam,” the official said.
Investigators said the main accused had previously operated unlawfully in Delhi before establishing new front companies in Himachal Pradesh and Delhi under the names of associates. Many of the so-called stockist firms were found to be fictitious — including Tiwari Medical Agency in Dehradun, which was registered to a local sweet shop.
“One arrest in that case led us to 1.24 lakh Alprazolam tablets hidden at a roadside dhaba,” the officer added.
Delhi