Hyderabad: In a stark snapshot of a drug trade that is growing more sophisticated by the day, the Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE) has flagged a sprawling network that thrives on concealment, mobility and digital anonymity, turning everyday objects and systems into conduits for narcotics flowing into and across Telangana. An internal EAGLE report reveals a narcotics ecosystem built on deception and constantly shifting routes, where traffickers are using ordinary objects, public transport systems, informal financial channels and cross-border links to keep drugs moving. From hollowed-out dictionaries and secret cabins inside mobile trolleys to stepneys, CNG cylinders, dome light cabins and jackfruit loads, the report shows how contraband is masked in plain sight. It also traces a wider network in which ganja, hash oil, synthetic drugs and cocaine move through inter-state and international supply lines, even as digital tools, cryptocurrencies and the dark web make detection harder. Concealment in plain sight The annual report-2025 lays out how traffickers rely on concealment techniques designed to defeat routine suspicion. In one method cited in the EAGLE report, MDMA was transported in fabricated Oxford dictionaries in which the pages had been replaced with secret chambers. In another, ganja was found hidden in secret cabins built into mobile temple trolleys, using religious imagery as cover. The report also documents the use of stepneys, CNG gas cylinders and dome light cabins of vehicles to stash drugs during transit. In transport trucks, ganja consignments were intercepted beneath jackfruit covers. Together, these methods indicate a pattern in which traffickers embed contraband in objects, vehicles and loads unlikely to attract immediate scrutiny. The misuse of essential and public services forms another layer of this network. The EAGLE report says ambulances were used to move drugs on the assumption that emergency vehicles are less likely to be stopped or searched. It also records extensive use of the railway network, with 55 cases in 2025 leading to the seizure of 885 kg of ganja. RTC and private buses were also used, with peddlers concealing substances beneath seats. Hawala channels EAGLE identified a parallel financial system in which drug proceeds are routed through mule bank accounts and hawala channels before being folded back into formal commerce. The EAGLE report says Nigerian cartels collected drug money in mule accounts, often linked to former students, and then moved it through hawala to centres such as Mumbai and Tiruppur. From there, businessmen allegedly used the cash to purchase clothing that was shipped to Nigeria. Once sold, the proceeds were deposited into cartel bank accounts as legitimate business income. The report describes this as a trade-based laundering chain that turns narcotics proceeds into clean funds. In one operation in Goa, investigators uncovered 150 bank transactions linked to this network, totalling Rs 65 lakh. The report also points to the role of clandestine laboratories in sustaining supply. Authorities neutralised six illegal manufacturing units in 2025 alone. Among them was PNM Life Sciences Private Ltd in Sangareddy, where 225.16 kg of ephedrine was allegedly manufactured illegally. Another unit, identified as Temple Lab in Hyderabad, was involved in producing psychotropic substances such as alprazolam. The report further identifies clandestine labs in Ahilyanagar, Satara and Bhiwandi in Maharashtra as key sources of alprazolam and nordiazepam entering the Telangana market. Ganja and hash oil are said to be entering from Malkangiri in Odisha and the Visakhapatnam-Sileru belt of Andhra Pradesh. Synthetic drugs, including LSD, MDMA and cocaine are traced to supply lines from Goa, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Pune and Rajasthan.At the international end, EAGLE says Nigerian syndicates are suspected to be coordinating the movement of synthetic drugs from Europe and cocaine from Latin America. It notes that cocaine is frequently shipped from the Netherlands, Belgium and France through international courier services such as DHL and FedEx.The report also says these cartels use Nigerian women as domestic carriers on flights from Delhi to cities such as Hyderabad, exploiting weaker scrutiny on domestic travel compared with international arrivals. Crypto angleEAGLE says the trade has also adapted to a technological shift that has eroded conventional enforcement boundaries. Use of cryptocurrencies, the dark web and anonymising tools is making it harder to trace money trails or identify those behind the trade. It adds that peddlers are using platforms such as IndiaMART and Aqua Herbals to market products like ganja chocolates, with courier networks used for final delivery. Set against these shifts is a sharp rise in NDPS cases in Telangana. The EAGLE report says the number of cases increased from 464 in 2019 to 2,734 in 2025, noting that during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, the drug menace spread into schools in rural areas as urbanisation and technological expansion widened access and reach.
