New Delhi: In a major crackdown on international drug trafficking, the Delhi Police Crime Branch has dismantled a well-oiled syndicate that smuggled psychotropic medicines to the United States by disguising them as ordinary courier consignments.
The operation was triggered after a suspicious parcel bound for the US was intercepted at a courier warehouse in Rama Road, Moti Nagar. What appeared to be harmless goods turned out to be a concealed cache of controlled psychotropic substances in commercial quantities.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Harish Indora said the bust followed precise intelligence inputs received on April 24 about an organised network exporting narcotic and psychotropic drugs abroad using forged documents and courier channels. Acting swiftly, a special team was constituted, leading to the interception that cracked open the racket.
Five accused—Abhishek Bhargava, Yasar Khan, Nitin, Neeraj Raghav and Amitesh Rai—have been arrested. Investigations have revealed a deeply entrenched network operating across procurement, documentation, packaging, logistics and financial transactions.
Police said the syndicate sourced NRX and psychotropic medicines through pharmaceutical distributors using fake or manipulated invoices. To erase traces of origin, batch numbers on medicine strips were deliberately masked with marker ink. The drugs were then hidden inside parcels labelled as benign items such as fancy lace cotton goods.
To evade scrutiny, forged KYC documents and fake sender identities were used. Parcels were routed through multiple courier intermediaries before being handed over for international dispatch. Communication with foreign recipients was conducted via WhatsApp, while payments were funneled through bank accounts and UPI channels, including a firm account allegedly controlled by accused Yasar Khan.
The seized consignment from the intercepted parcel included 3,505 tablets of Zolpidem weighing 686.48 grams and 2,510 tablets of Tramadol weighing 705.60 grams. Further recoveries during the arrest of Abhishek Bhargava revealed additional stock: 1,500 Zolpidem tablets (264 grams), 3,000 Diazepam tablets (666 grams), and 830 Tramadol tablets (349.83 grams).
Officials noted that the medicines were packed under different brand names, with several strips deliberately tampered to conceal batch details—pointing to a calculated attempt to obscure the supply chain.
“The syndicate was dealing in large quantities of psychotropic medicines for illegal export and profiteering in foreign markets,” the DCP said.
The bust has exposed the entire chain—from procurement and concealment to forged documentation, courier routing and digital payments—highlighting the growing misuse of logistics networks for drug trafficking.
Police said further investigation is underway to identify additional links, including suppliers and overseas recipients, in what appears to be a transnational narcotics network operating under the radar.
(Cover Image Credit: @CrimeBranchDP/X.com)
