NCB busts secret meth lab with Mexican cartel ties near Delhi; Tihar jail warden arrested
PTC News Desk: The Narcotics Control Bureau busted a clandestine methamphetamine manufacturing laboratory linked to members of the Mexican drug cartel - Cartel De Jalisco Nueva Generacion, officials claimed on Tuesday. The laboratory was run by Indian nationals in an industrial region in Gautam Budh Nagar, near Delhi, according to NCB officials.
According to NCB's deputy director general (DDG) Gyaneshwar Singh, the four people arrested include a Mumbai-based chemist and a Tihar jail warden.
NCB is looking for a Mexican national, accused of being a member of the Cartel De Jalisco Nueva Generacion, who was living in Delhi and was hired to test the drug's quality.
According to NCB's DDG Kumar Singh, the agency acted on information that a laboratory had been established in Delhi's NCR to produce synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine for export to other countries as well as consumption in India, with members of the Mexican CJNG drug cartel (Cartel De Jalisco Nueva Generacion) also involved.
After receiving the tip, the NCB launched a search operation in a factory in Kasana Industrial Area, Gautam Budh Nagar district on October 25, 2024, and found around 95 kg of Methamphetamine in solid and liquid form. Chemicals such as acetone, sodium hydroxide, methylene chloride, premium grade ethanol, toluene, red phosphorous, ethyl acetate, and imported machinery for manufacturing were found as well.
Singh claimed that a West Delhi businessman and a Tihar Jail warden were inside the factory at the time of the raid. According to the officer, the two were crucial for establishing the illegal factory, sourcing chemicals for methamphetamine production from various sources, and importing machinery.
"The businessman had previously been arrested by the Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in an NDPS case and was lodged in Tihar jail, where he met the jail warden, who later became his accomplice."
Singh added that they hired a chemist in Mumbai to make drugs. A Mexican cartel member based in Delhi used to test the purity of drugs.
The four individuals arrested by the NCB are being held in police custody for three days.
The federal agency is currently investigating the gang's forward and backward links, money trail, and assets generated.
- PTC NEWS
