A drug warehouse. Image for representation.
Credit: iStock Photo
Udupi: In one of the biggest global crackdowns on illegal pharmaceutical trafficking, the New Delhi-based Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) busted a major international drug syndicate with critical operational links traced to Udupi, Karnataka.
The investigation into the illegal trafficking of prescription drugs, dubbed `Operation Med-Max', has revealed that a seemingly low-profile call centre in Udupi had played a key role in gathering international orders and dispatching the banned pharmaceutical drugs to over four continents.
NCB’s operations began with the arrest of two B Pharma graduates in New Delhi in May. Their confessions led investigators to a stockist in Roorkee and subsequently to a key associate in Mayur Vihar in New Delhi. This associate pointed to a contact in Udupi, who emerged as a crucial node in the global network.
Following a raid at the house of a contact, identified as Suresh Kumar K from Tamil Nadu, NCB had discovered a month ago data linked to 50 international consignments — notably 29 intra-USA shipments, 18 within Australia, and others to Estonia, Spain, and Switzerland. The local unit was operating a fully functional call centre, employing nearly 10 individuals, many of whom were reportedly unaware of the illegal operations.
The team handled international sales enquiries through a B2B portal and processed advance payments in cryptocurrency before routing them to supply module operators abroad.
Investigations further uncovered that the Udupi link was instrumental in coordinating shipments, managing clients, and recruiting re-shippers. The syndicate operated through encrypted messaging apps, used anonymous drop shippers, and accepted payments through crypto and digital wallets to avoid detection, informed sources in Udupi police.
Udupi Superintendent of Police Hariram Shankar said the arrest of the contact in Udupi was linked to a New Delhi-based transnational drug trafficking racket and was not a local operation. The accused, Suresh Kumar, was operating a call centre named Med Max Digital Centre from Hayagreevanagara in Kunjeebettu and facilitated international orders for prescription drugs containing narcotics.
Hariram Shankar clarified that no drugs were manufactured or distributed from Udupi. Local staff, unaware of the illegal activities, were also not arrested, he added.