NCB officials bust Alprazolam drug racket, arrest five

The seized contraband, which is worth Rs 2 crore in the black market. 

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has busted a drug racket operational in Karnataka and Telangana that manufactured and sold the contraband Alprazolam.

Officials arrested five people involved in the racket and seized Rs 62 lakh in cash and 91 kilograms of Alprazolam worth Rs 2 crore in the black market.

NCB officials in Bengaluru had been monitoring the Alprazolam manufacturing and trafficking network in Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for the past few months. Based on the intelligence gathered, officials from the Bengaluru zone and Hyderabad sub-zonal unit intercepted a mini truck carrying Alprazolam at the Kolhar Industrial Area in Bidar and seized 91.5 kilograms of the drug.

Officials also raided the factory of Indu Drugs Pvt Ltd where the drug was being manufactured and found remnants of Alprazolam powder. A simultaneous search was also conducted at the residence of a person by name N V Reddy in Hyderabad.

Reddy, arrested along with S Bhaskar, Y V Reddy, S Menon and Amruth, was running the Alprazolam factory. Cash amounting to Rs 62 lakh, believed to be the proceeds from selling the drug, has been seized from Reddy’s house.

Bhaskar, the kingpin of the operation, and Y V Reddy, the chemical expert, were arrested after a high-speed chase as they tried to escape.

Amit Ghawate, Bengaluru zonal director, NCB, said the seized Alprazolam was meant for sale in Telangana.

Alprazolam is a psychotropic drug belonging to the benzodiazepines class, which are anti-depressants. The drug has also been trafficked for recreational purposes worldwide. It is also used as a cutting agent for toddy in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Alprazolam-laced toddy is dangerous enough to cause serious health complications and even death.