New Delhi: In a major crackdown on illegal pharmaceutical drug trafficking, the Delhi Police’s Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) has busted an interstate cartel operating across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh. Five individuals have been arrested, and banned pharmaceutical drugs valued at over ₹5 lakh were recovered during the operation.
The operation began with the arrest of 20-year-old Vikas, from whom authorities seized 28 boxes containing Dicyclomine HCI and Tramadol HCI — amounting to 336 grams and 6,720 capsules.
Subsequently, 43-year-old Sudhir, a medical store owner, was apprehended during a raid conducted in the presence of Sanjay Kumar, Drug Inspector, Department of Drug Control, Delhi. Police recovered 505 Alprazolam (0.5 mg) tablets and 664 Tramadol (50 mg) capsules from his store.
Investigations revealed that Vikas had procured the contraband from the residence of one Sunil Kumar Bhardwaj, identified as the key mastermind of the trafficking operation. A raid was conducted at Sunil’s address, but he was found absconding. The court issued a Non-Bailable Warrant (NBW) against him on April 1, and he was arrested on April 5. Sunil later admitted to working with Sudhir for the past 6-7 years, jointly operating two medical stores.
Further leads pointed to one Jeetu as a supplier. A follow-up raid at Jeetu’s associate, Ajeet’s residence in Sangam Vihar, led to the recovery of two white sacks containing 18,000 Tramadol tablets (weighing 1.8 kg) and 7,400 Nitrazepam tablets (Elza-10). Ajeet, 32, was later arrested on April 8 from Tilak Marg, New Delhi, and ₹69,500 in cash was seized from him.
During interrogation, Ajeet revealed he had procured the drugs from one Pandey of Shivam Medicos in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, and Nitrazepam tablets from Vijay Goel — currently lodged in Agra jail under the NDPS Act.
Ajeet was taken to Gorakhpur during police remand in an attempt to trace the main source, Ambar Agrahari. Although initially untraceable, Ambar, 43, was later arrested on April 13 from a hotel in Delhi with ₹1.16 lakh in cash.
Ambar confessed to running the drug network with his partner, Surender Nath Pandey, the owner of two medical stores. The duo reportedly procured large quantities of drugs like Tramadol and Alprazolam through invoices from pharmaceutical suppliers in Gorakhpur and distributed them in Delhi at inflated prices through agents like Ajeet.
Police confirmed that the seized medicines were originally sourced from pharmaceutical companies in Gorakhpur. The investigation into the supply chain and other possible links is ongoing.
