Delhi Police have successfully dismantled an interstate drug supply network, arresting three individuals and seizing a large quantity of Alprazolam tablets, highlighting the ongoing efforts to combat drug trafficking in the region.
Key Points
- Delhi Police dismantle an interstate drug supply network, arresting three individuals.
- Seizure includes 17,800 Alprazolam tablets, valued at approximately Rs 3 lakh.
- The recovered quantity of Alprazolam exceeds the commercial limit by over 20 times.
- Arrests include a medical store owner and a medicine supplier involved in the illegal distribution.
Police busted an interstate drug-supply network, arresting three persons, including a medical store owner and a medicine supplier, and recovering 17,800 Alprazolam tablets worth around Rs 3 lakh in central Delhi, officials said on Thursday.
The recovery, weighing more than two kilograms, is over 20 times the notified commercial quantity of Alprazolam in India, they said.
Details of the Drug Bust Operation
Police said the Anti-Narcotics Cell of the Central district had received specific intelligence on Monday regarding a man allegedly involved in the supply of psychotropic substances in the area.
Following this, a police team laid a trap near Shanti Van and intercepted Santosh Kumar Thakur, 35, who was transporting Alprazolam tablets on a scooty, police said.
During the search, police recovered 15,000 Alprazolam tablets packed inside a carton kept on the vehicle, they said.
An FIR under relevant sections of the NDPS Act was registered at Darya Ganj police station, and further investigation was taken up, police added.
Alprazolam and Legal Regulations
Alprazolam is a notified psychotropic substance and cannot be possessed, transported or supplied without a valid medical prescription and authorisation under the law.
During the interrogation, Thakur disclosed that the tablets had been sourced from Anand Kumar Vaishnav, owner of a medical store in Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, police said.
Based on his disclosure, police conducted a raid at the medical shop and recovered another 2,800 Alprazolam tablets, leading to Vaishnav's arrest, they said.
Arrest of the Medicine Supplier
Further investigation led police to Sherkhan, a medicine supplier from Uttar Pradesh's Hapur, who was arrested at Pilakhuwa on Wednesday, officers said.
Sherkhan, who runs a medical store and also works as a local wholesaler of medicines, allegedly supplied the Alprazolam tablets to Vaishnav for illegal distribution, police said.
