NCB unearths psychotropic drug trafficking ring; over 30L narcotics seized

It is infamously called the ISIS pill as it was taken by the terrorists of this banned global terror network to reduce pain and enhance endurance, he said.The international trafficking route for Tramadol primarily starts from China and India, with Africa as a transit and subsequently to various parts of the world, the officer said.The NCB, a central anti-narcotics agency, has seized a total of 90 lakh pieces of psychotropic drug along with one lakh of codeine-based cough syrups this year in Delhi-NCR.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Monday claimed to have busted a psychotropic drugs trafficking network, that used the 'darknet' to ship consignments abroad, with the arrest of 4 people and seizure of over 30 lakh pieces of drugs and cough syrup.

The syndicate used to conceal the psychotropic drugs in herbal supplement packages, the agency said.

''The operation, that is ongoing, has led to seizure of 30.5 lakh (pieces) of psychotropic drugs, 70,000 codeine-based cough syrups and 14.895 kg Amphetamine drug,'' NCB deputy director (operations) K P S Malhotra said.

''Four people have been arrested till now after raids were conducted in various parts of Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand by the Delhi zonal unit,'' Malhotra said.

He added that this ''module had a modus operandi of getting the orders through darknet (hidden and encrypted Internet) market host and it was delivered through dedicated shippers to create anonymity between the receiver of the order and logistics persons.'' The destination of the consignments were primarily USA, UK, Europe and other countries, Malhotra said.

The two arrested Agra-based alleged narcotics suppliers used to source the psychotropic drugs from a Haridwar (Uttarakhand) based pharmaceutical company. A man from Delhi and a grocery vendor from Balia in Uttar Pradesh have also been arrested under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Pharmaceutical products like Tramadol can be categorised as psychotropic drugs. ''It is used in the treatment of moderate to severe pain.The analgesic effect is multi-modal and leads to mood enhancement,'' a senior anti-narcotics agency officer said. According to the WHO, Tramadol can produce physical dependence, with studies showing that this dependence may occur if it is used daily for some weeks. It is infamously called the 'ISIS pill' as it was taken by the terrorists of this banned global terror network to reduce pain and enhance endurance, he said.

The international trafficking route for Tramadol primarily starts from China and India, with Africa as a transit and subsequently to various parts of the world, the officer said.

The NCB, a central anti-narcotics agency, has seized a total of 90 lakh pieces of psychotropic drug along with one lakh of codeine-based cough syrups this year in Delhi-NCR.