NEW DELHI: Delhi Police Crime Branch has dismantled a narco-syndicate operating across multiple states and arrested seven key operatives, including three Nepalese nationals, police said on Wednesday.
The operation led to seizure of above 17 kilograms of ‘charas’ (hashish) worth approximately Rs 8.75 crore in the international market, police said.
The syndicate was supplying ‘charas’ from Nepal and Kasol (Himachal Pradesh) to Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. According to police, the accused have been identified as Mohammad Jamal (Nihal Vihar), Prem Thapa, Ganga Gurung Thapa, Ankit Budha, all from Nepal, Pradeep Kumar, a resident of Ballabhgarh, Haryana, Manjeet from Mohali, Punjab and Moti Lal, a resident of Jaipur, Rajasthan.
Authorities said the operation began after receiving intelligence on November 20 last year about the supply of charas by a Nepalese national in the Majnu Ka Tila area to a local drug trafficker, Jameel. A raid was carried out, resulting in the arrest of Prem Thapa (32) and Jameel (35), who were caught exchanging charas at a hotel. Over 1 kilogram of charas was recovered from the duo.
“On the basis of Prem’s confession, Ganga Gurung Thapa, the charas supplier, was arrested in Wazirabad, with 712 grams of charas found in his possession. Further searches led to the recovery of 13.766 kilograms of charas from Ganga’s residence. During the investigation, Ankit Budha, a key supplier residing in Kasol was also arrested. He was reportedly the main source for Prem,” Special Commissioner of Police (crime) Devesh Chandra Srivastva said.
Pradeep Kumar, who procured charas from Prem for distribution in Ballabhgarh and Faridabad, was arrested shortly after. Manjeet and Moti Lal were apprehended as part of the operation. Police said Jamal sourced charas from Prem, who in turn obtained it from Ganga (Nepal) and Budha (Himachal Pradesh). Ganga was the primary supplier to Delhi/NCR and Punjab, officials said.