NCB busts darknet-hosted drug trafficking syndicate, arrests 2

New Delhi, Jul 1 (PTI) The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Tuesday claimed to have busted a darknet-based pan-India LSD (a type of drug) trafficking syndicate with the arrest of two persons and seizure of drugs and cryptocurrency worth about Rs one crore.

The syndicate was operating under the name 'Ketamelon' and a probe was initiated by the federal anti-narcotics agency after its Cochin zonal unit first intercepted three postal parcels containing 280 LSD blots on June 28 and the home of a suspect was raided the next day.

"This was (Ketamelon) one of India's most prolific darknet drugs syndicates. The agency launched an operation codenamed 'Melon' to investigate it after getting primary inputs from the Cochin seizure," the NCB said in a statement.

The darknet-enabled drugs supply platform had "established" a "widespread" network shipping LSD to cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Bhopal, Patna, and Delhi apart from some cities in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, it said.

The NCB suspects that over the last 14 months, it delivered 600 shipments.

Two persons linked to the syndicate have been arrested till now, the agency said.

A total of 1,127 LSD blots, 131.66 grams of Ketamine, a hardware wallet holding about Rs 70 lakh worth of USDT (cryptocurrency) was also seized as part of the operation.

Some custodial wallets on crypto platforms like Binance have been identified for further investigation, it said.

NCB officials said 'Ketamelon' was India's only Level 4 darknet vendor -- kind of a top-tier status -- ”operating "actively" over the past two years.

The cartels on darknet, as per the investigators, are rated on a scale of 1 to 5 star based on their potency of drugs sold and their customer service.

Darknet refers to the deep hidden internet platform that is used for narcotics sale, exchange of pornographic content and other illegal activities by using the clandestine alleys of the onion router (ToR) to stay away from the surveillance of law enforcement agencies.

The name of this particular syndicate is derived from the vendor's early involvement in Ketamine smuggling, as per the agency.

Drugs were primarily sourced from UK-based vendor Gunga Din, a known reshipper of the globally infamous Dr Seuss (also known as DS or Tribe Seuss) which is believed to be the largest LSD source in the world, the NCB said.

The estimated street value of the seized drugs is about Rs 35.12 lakh with LSD blots being priced in a range of Rs 2,500-“Rs 4,000 each, as per the statement.

LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) is a hallucinogenic drug which chemically acts to change the way people sense the world around them.

It is also known as acid, blots, stamps etc. LSD is odourless, colourless and tasteless and can be painted onto small squares of paper that people lick or swallow and it alters the sense of space, distance and time.

The NCB had busted a similar darket-based LSD cartel named Zambada in 2023 and it had arrested 14 persons in the case apart from seizing 29,013 LSD blots, 472 grams of MDMA and Rs 51.38 lakh in cash. PTI TGB/NES MNK MNK