Delhi Police have busted an international drug trafficking syndicate, arresting five individuals, including the alleged kingpin, and recovered narcotics worth approximately `5 crore, officials said on Saturday. The arrests were made following two separate but interlinked operations and the recovered drugs include high-grade opium, charas, and crude heroin, smuggled from Nepal and northeastern India, according to officials. The accused have been identified as the kingpin Jasmer Singh (52), Raj Kumar (47), Kala (50), Mohan Lal (45) and Sanjay Rawat (43). According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Amit Kaushik, The gang was involved in smuggling high-grade opium, charas, and crude heroin under the guise of legitimate activities such as tourism, textile trading, and road construction work. The operation has led to the seizure of a total of 7 kilograms of opium, 3.53 kilograms of charas, and 625 grams of crude heroin. The first operation took place on April 15 near the Burari Authority area in Delhi. Acting on a tip-off, a police team intercepted a car in which two suspects, Jasmer Singh and Raj Kumar, were waiting. Both are residents of Haryana and, upon inspection, the vehicle was found to contain 5.12 kilograms of opium and 3.53 kilograms of charas. The drugs were ingeniously hidden inside the petrol tank and roof cavity of the car to evade detection. The interrogation of the duo led to the arrest of two more alleged members of the syndicate. Kala, a resident of Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh and Sanjay Rawat from Shamli were taken into custody shortly afterward. An additional 1.87 kilograms of opium was recovered from their possession, further exposing the depth of the operation. On April 29, a second operation led to the arrest of Mohan Lal in the Burari area. A native of Churu district in Rajasthan, he was already wanted in an NDPS case. He was allegedly caught transporting 625 grams of crude heroin, concealed in a secret cavity in his car. Investigators believe Mohan was introduced to the drug trade after incurring financial losses in his small business ventures. He is reported to have started sourcing drugs from Manipur and delivering them across various states, posing as a worker in road construction projects and traveling with a woman to avoid arousing suspicion. The police disclosed that the accused used encrypted communication through social media accounts linked to Nepalese phone numbers to coordinate their activities. This allowed them to bypass Indian surveillance mechanisms and maintain secrecy in their operations. Jasmer Singh, who is believed to be the ringleader, had previously served a jail sentence in Nepal between 2011 and 2019 in a narcotics case. He reportedly met Kala during his imprisonment and the two resumed drug smuggling soon after their release. In 2021, Jasmer was also arrested in Haryana for similar offences, highlighting his repeated involvement in narcotics trafficking. All accused have been booked under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Police say that investigations are ongoing and further arrests are likely, as they continue to trace the syndicates wider network of associates and financiers. Efforts are also being made to identify the cross-border links of the cartel and investigate the financial channels used to fund the illegal trade.

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