NCB busts pan-India dark net-based drug cartel with largest LSD seizure; 6 held

New Delhi, June 6: The Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested six persons allegedly part of a pan-India network of drug traffickers, who reportedly operated through the dark web and confiscated 15,000 LSD drug blots, in one of the agency's biggest ever seizures in the last two decades.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) described the seizure as its biggest ever in the last two decades. The agency has also seized 2.5kg of imported marijuana and Rs4.65 lakh in cash at the instance of the suspects. LSD or lysergic acid diethylamide is a synthetic chemical based-drug that is categorised as a hallucinogen.

According to NCB Deputy Director General Gyaneshwar Singh, the gang used cryptocurrency and the darknet, adding that the delivery was mostly done through courier services. "All dealings were virtual," the NCB official said, adding the suspects used private messaging apps to communicate.

The darknet is an encrypted portion of the internet that is not indexed by search engines. it uses the router ToR to escape surveillance. Criminals typically use the advantages of the darknet to conduct illegal business, including trading in malware drugs weapons and criminal services under the guise of anonymity.

Addressing a press briefing here on Tuesday, the NCB Deputy Director General said, "We've arrested six persons in two cases and seized 15,000 blots of LSD drug... The commercial quantity of this drug is 0.1 gram. It's a synthetic drug and is very dangerous. This is the biggest seizure in the last two decades."

The NCB official said the seizure of 15,000 LSD blots was 2,500 times the commercial quantity.

The agency has also seized 2.5kg of imported marijuana and Rs 4.65 lakh in cash, the official said adding that Rs 20 lakh deposited in bank accounts were also seized.

The NCB Deputy DG further said LSD was quite popular among youth and most of the people involved in this network were educated and young.

"LSD is very easy to smuggle and almost difficult to trace. A commercial quantity is made up of 5 or 6 blots. The NCB has recovered 15,000 blots, and six people have been arrested. There has not been such a huge seizure in the last several years," he said.

The NCB Deputy DG said  in the year 2021, the Karnataka Chief Minister congratulated the police for confiscating 5,000 blots in the whole year.

Singh said huge network was spread out in many states in the country and also stretched to countries such as Poland, Netherlands and the US. The Delhi zonal team busted the cartel with the help of several units.

"India is slowly becoming a big consumer of LSD, which is dangerous. It is a huge network and was spread across Poland, Netherlands, the USA, Delhi-NCR, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, the NCB official said.

He added that apart from 15,000 LSD blots, two and a half kilos of foreign ganja and Rs 20 lakh were also seized.

Earlier in 2021, we had busted three dark net sites by arresting 40 accused", he added.