(MENAFN- Live Mint) Delhi Police has busted an interstate syndicate involved in the illegal trafficking of banned pharmaceutical drugs, leading to a seizure of 54,000 Tramadol tablets with an estimated market value of more than ₹32 lakh, an official said on Monday.

Five individuals have been arrested in connection with the drug racket, which investigators suspect may have international links, the official told PTI.

What led to their arrests?

The operation began on 7 October, when police laid a trap in the Madanpur Khadar Extension-I area in South East Delhi. They apprehended Mohd Abid (50), a resident of Madanpur Khadar, who was carrying a large bag, a senior police officer said.

On inspection, the bag was found to contain 54,000 tablets of Treken-100, a Tramadol-based psychotropic medicine, banned under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, he said.

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Tramadol, a strictly controlled opioid (painkiller), was classified as a psychotropic substance under the Act in 2018.

Following the seizure, an FIR was registered under provisions of the NDPS Act, and police arrested Abid, the officer added.

Unravelling the network

During interrogation, Abid disclosed that he was working with an associate, Javed Khan (45), a resident of Johri Farm in the Jamia Nagar area. Khan was subsequently arrested, police told PTI.

Further investigation led to the arrest of three more people:

– Sunil Kumar (40), who managed a warehouse in Samalka near the Kapashera border.

- Vishnu Dutt Sharma (62), an exporter from Dwarka.

- Vikas Singh alias Ishwar Yadav (38), the owner of a courier business in Rangpuri.

The five accused were found to be a part of an organised network involved in the procurement, storage and distribution of banned Tramadol tablets across Delhi and other states.

Roles of the arrested people

Investigators revealed that Javed Khan, who utilised his experience as a customs house agent for more than two decades, allegedly used his contacts to facilitate the movement of psychotropic substances through illegal supply channels.

Sunil Kumar allegedly provided the critical function of storage at his warehouse, while Vishnu Dutt Sharma and Vikas Singh were reportedly responsible for handling logistics and distribution.

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The officer said the significant scale of the drug seizure suggests that the syndicate was operating with international supply links, a critical dimension of the case that the police are now actively investigating.

The police officials also confirmed that the investigation is underway to not only track the larger supply chain but also to identify and nab other members of the cartel involved in this illegal operation, PTI reported.

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