Synthetic Drug Cartel Busted In Tamil Nadu, 3 Foreigners Among 14 Arrested

The police have busted a major interstate synthetic drug cartel controlled by foreign nationals residing in Tamil Nadu, uncovering a highly sophisticated supply chain spanning multiple states. Fourteen individuals, including three foreign nationals, have been arrested, and cocaine and methamphetamine have been seized in what police described as a "complex, multi-layered network" that operated without direct contact between buyers, sellers, or couriers.

Tiruvallur Superintendent of Police Vivekananda Shukla told NDTV: "The racket used encrypted communication on WhatsApp and relied on a unique method of delivery. Buyers deposited money into specific bank accounts, mostly belonging to elderly individuals in the northeast. The drugs were then placed in hidden locations late at night, and only the GPS coordinates were shared. There was no direct contact at any point. This was challenging because several layers were involved."

Police said the cartel procured narcotics from Mumbai and northeastern states, with couriers navigating the narrow inner lanes of Dharavi and climbing rooftops to reach suppliers, before the drugs were distributed in urban hubs such as Chennai and Bengaluru.

Investigations revealed that the network was overseen by a foreign kingpin, lodged in Puzhal Central Prison near Chennai. He is believed to have supervised operations via video conference calls, coordinating supply routes to Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Another key handler, Bende, a Senegalese national, was arrested after a 15-day operation in Delhi and Noida, where a special team tracked multiple suspected hideouts. When the police finally zeroed in on his apartment, a large quantity of drugs was flushed in the toilet minutes before the raid, officers said.

The crackdown was carried out under the overall supervision of North Zone Inspector General of Police Asra Garg, with police personnel drawn from multiple districts.

Officials said that with the intensified action on the cannabis trade, many users, largely students and dealers, are shifting to synthetic drugs like methamphetamine, which are costlier and often trafficked through college alumni networks and foreign resident communities.