Codename Ketamelon: NCB says it has busted India's biggest darknet drugs syndicate

Indian Express

5 days ago

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Tuesday said its Kochi zonal unit busted 'India's most prolific darknet drug syndicate' operating under the name 'Ketamelon'.
NCB sources said it arrested one Edison (35), a native of Muvattupuzha in Kerala's Ernakulam district. They alleged that he is currently the largest darknet vendor of drugs in India and is the country's only 'Level 4' darknet vendor who has been operating actively over the past two years.
An associate of Edison has also been arrested, but the NCB has not revealed his name.
Edison, an engineer, was allegedly sourcing drugs from the UK and has a network across India, officials said. According to the NCB, the name Ketamelon derives from the vendor's involvement in ketamine smuggling. 'Drugs were primarily sourced from a UK-based vendor, Gunga Din, believed to be the largest LSD source in the world,' the agency said.
'If fewer than 1,000 LSD blots were seized in Kerala in a year, this person was supplying around 10,000 LSD blots across the country in a month. He was remanded in judicial custody, and we will seek his custody for further investigation,' sources said.
In the operation codenamed 'MELON', the NCB said it seized large quantities of LSD and ketamine — 1,127 LSD blots and 131.66 grams of ketamine — as well as crypto assets worth Rs 70 lakh.
The suspect had established a widespread network, shipping LSD to major cities including Bengaluru, Chennai, Bhopal, Patna, Delhi, and regions in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, officials said. Over the last 14 months, 600 shipments were allegedly sent out by him. The estimated market value of the seized drugs is approximately Rs 35.12 lakh, with LSD blots priced at Rs 2,500-4,000 each.
The NCB said that after weeks of surveillance and intelligence gathering, 280 LSD blots were intercepted on June 28 from three postal parcels in Kochi. 'Investigation in this regard confirmed that these parcels were booked by the suspect. During a search of his house on June 29, 847 more LSD blots and 131.66 grams of Ketamine were seized,' the NCB said.
The suspect has allegedly been active in various darknet markets over the last two years. The NCB carried out a four-month probe to identify him. Intensive technical and physical investigations were carried out in this period to get to the accused, officials said.
The NCB said that during searches, several other incriminating material were found, including a pen drive containing TAILS, a free and open source operating system protecting privacy and anonymity online, which was used to access darknet markets.
Multiple cryptocurrency wallets and hard disks with incriminating documents were seized, officials said.