New Delhi: In three separate operations, Delhi Police seized drugs, including pharmaceutical substances, worth over Rs 5 crore and arrested 10 people. In the first case, narcotics, including opium, charas and heroin worth approximately Rs 5 crore in the international market, were smuggled from Nepal and Manipur. According to police, on April 15, 52-year-old Jasmer Singh was apprehended for allegedly trafficking opium and charas from Nepal to Delhi and the rest of National Capital Region. Based on a tip-off, officers had set a trap in Burari, where Singh was expected to deliver a large consignment in a car. He was caught during the operation.Upon inspecting the vehicle, police discovered 5.12kg opium concealed in hidden compartments inside the petrol tank and 3.54kg high-quality charas stashed in cavities in the roof. Based on Singh’s disclosure, three of his accomplices were arrested. From their possession, the authorities recovered an additional 1.88kg opium. They were identified as Raj Kumar (47), Kala (50), and Sanjay Rawat (43).The members of this international drug syndicate were involved in trafficking charas and opium from Nepal into Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and NCR. They often posed as tourists or cloth merchants during their visits to Nepal, where they sourced the narcotics from local suppliers. The arrests were made by a team of the special cell. The same team also nabbed one Mohan Lal during another operation.In the third operation by the crime branch, five men involved in the illegal supply of pharmaceutical drugs in Delhi—particularly around North Campus of Delhi University—were arrested. They were distributing these drugs without any bills or prescriptions. Police recovered 2,360 Tramadol capsules and 135 bottles of codeine-based cough syrup from their possession. The seized drugs are valued at over Rs 1 lakh in the international market.One of the arrested, Manish Bhatle, was allegedly supplying these substances in Delhi. He was unable to produce any bill or prescription, or provide a satisfactory explanation for the recovered items. Bhatle told police that he obtained the drugs from his maternal uncle, Devender, who owned a medical shop in Malkaganj. Devender was arrested, too, following a search conducted at his shop and residence, located in the same building, though no drugs were found at either location. He later admitted to sourcing Tramadol tablets from a person named Gunnu and the codeine-based syrups from another person called Surender.Gunnu, identified as a mediator in the illicit supply chain, was arrested and confessed to procuring the capsules from Ankit Gupta, the owner of another medical store. Gupta was also taken into custody. Subsequently, the crime branch team arrested Kapil (28), a medical representative, who used his professional connections to facilitate the illegal procurement of these drugs.
