Delhi Police’s special cell seized 208kg of cocaine in Ramesh Nagar, west Delhi, on Thursday. The drugs were hidden in packets labeled as “Chatpata Mixture” inside a godown. This is the second major drug haul in the capital within 10 days.
Earlier, on October 1, the police carried out the city’s largest drug bust, seizing 562kg of cocaine in Mahipalpur, south Delhi. While police initially valued the 562kg haul at ₹5,000 crore, international estimates suggest it could be worth up to ₹566 crore on the streets of the United States, according to UNODC.
With these two raids, the police have now recovered a total of 770kg of cocaine. Officers believe that both busts are linked to the same drug cartel, reportedly led by a Delhi-based businessman hiding in Dubai.
The latest operation came after officers arrested suspects connected to the earlier October 1 seizure. Acting on leads, the police raided the Ramesh Nagar godown and discovered 200 packets of namkeen, each containing cocaine.
The October 1 bust led to the arrest of businessman Tushar Goyal and his associates. Investigations revealed that the drug cartel is allegedly run by Virender Basoiya, a businessman who met Goyal in Tihar Jail in 2011. Basoiya, believed to be in Dubai, arranged for the cocaine shipment from South America to India via an old cargo ship through Dubai.
Further probing led to the arrest of Jitendra Pal Singh Gill, a London-based associate of Basoiya, at Amritsar airport on October 3. Inputs from Gill and other accused individuals revealed that another consignment had reached Delhi from Uttar Pradesh.
The police tracked the second consignment through GPS installed in the transport vehicle. It was brought from Chennai to Hapur before arriving in Delhi. The transporter, A Safi, was arrested in Chennai, while his associate, Mohd Akhlaq, was caught in Hapur.
According to investigators, Akhlaq was unaware that his vehicle was equipped with GPS, allowing police to locate the godown in Ramesh Nagar. Special commissioner of police, RP Upadhyay, confirmed the latest raid, estimating the street value of the drugs at ₹2,000 crore. However, UNODC figures suggest the street value in the US would be closer to ₹210 crore.
This bust marks another significant breakthrough in the ongoing fight against international drug smuggling syndicates.
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