Kochi: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested seven drug traffickers after dismantling a network that was supplying a significant quantity of LSD, a dangerous hallucinogenic chemical drug, in Ernakulam district, officials said on Monday.
According to officials, acting on specific information, NCB Cochin intercepted a postal parcel from Germany containing 10 blots (0.24 gm) of LSD.
The recipient of the parcel, Sarath Parackal Jayand, a 24-year-old resident of Chengamanad near Aluva, was subsequently arrested.
Further investigation led to multiple follow-up actions, resulting in the overall seizure of 326 blots of LSD (7.59 gm), exceeding the commercial quantity by 76 times, and 8.25 gm of Hashish from six different locations in Ernakulam.
In a release, the NCB said that seven drug traffickers, including Jayand, Abin Babu, Sharun Shaji, Ambady K P, Akshay C R, Anandakrishna Tebi, and Antony Sanjay K G, are currently in judicial custody.
According to the NCB, the network members pooled money from customers, converted funds into cryptocurrencies, and placed multiple orders for LSD with various vendors on illegal darknet drug markets.
"With a total seizure of 326 blots (7.59 gm) of LSD and the arrest of seven drug traffickers, the NCB Cochin Zonal Unit has successfully dismantled the drug trafficking network supplying a significant quantity of LSD in and around Ernakulam," the statement said.
Further investigation is in progress, it added.
Published 15 January 2024, 11:12 IST