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New Indian Express
13-07-2025
- New Indian Express
Ketamelon kingpin used ID cards sourced from darkweb for drugs trade
KOCHI: The kingpin behind Ketamelon, a darknet-based drug trafficking platform operating across India, procured identity cards from the darknet to ship LSD blots and ketamine, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has found. The central agency has initiated steps to freeze the assets of the accused, believed to have been acquired through proceeds of crime. NCB had earlier arrested Edison Babu, a resident of Muvattupuzha, along with Arun Thomas, after a probe revealed that Edison was operating the Ketamelon platform on the dark web. Investigators found that Edison procured multiple government-issued ID cards, such as Aadhaar, PAN, and election IDs, from darknet marketplaces using cryptocurrency to book parcels for drug deliveries. 'There are several platforms on the darknet selling forged identification documents. The accused used these to book parcels anonymously, helping him evade detection if a consignment was intercepted,' said an NCB source. The agency has also identified several individuals who were purchasing drugs via the Ketamelon platform. 'We have located some of them and they are currently under surveillance. A detailed probe is under way with assistance from our units in other states,' an official said. Investigators found that Edison had dispatched over 600 parcels to customers in the past year alone. While the exact value of the illicit earnings is yet to be determined, as most transactions were conducted using Monero (XMR). This privacy-focused cryptocurrency conceals sender and receiver details. 'We interrogated both Edison and Arun for four days after securing their custody last week. However, more information needs to be gathered, and we will be seeking further custody from the court,' the official added. The accused reportedly made significant investments and acquired properties in Ernakulam and Idukki districts. The authorities are now collecting detailed information on these assets to prevent further transactions.
India Today
09-07-2025
- India Today
Who is Ketamelon? Kerala engineer behind India's top darknet drug ring arrested
In a major crackdown on India's darknet drug trade, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested Edison Babu, a 35-year-old mechanical engineer from Kerala, who allegedly ran the country's most prolific darknet drug syndicate under the alias 'Ketamelon.'The narcotics control bureau arrested Edison Babu, a 35 year old mechanical engineer from Kerala. Babu allegedly ran the country's most prolific darknet drug syndicate under the alias 'Ketamelon'.advertisementAccording to the NCB, 'Ketamelon' was India's only Level 4 darknet vendor and had been operating for the last two years. The high-impact operation, codenamed 'MELON,' was carried out by the NCB Cochin Zonal Unit after weeks of surveillance and intelligence gathering. The operation led to the seizure of 1,127 LSD blots, 131.66 grams of Ketamine, and digital assets worth Rs 70 officials said the bust began on June 28, when 280 LSD blots were intercepted from three postal parcels in Cochin.'Investigation confirmed that these parcels were booked by the suspect. During a search of his house the next day, i.e., June 29, 847 more LSD blots and 131.66 grams of Ketamine were seized,' the NCB said in a a native of Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam, had worked with several top companies in cities like Pune, Bengaluru, and Bombay before returning to Kerala. He reportedly opened a restaurant in Aluva but shut it down during the COVID-19 lockdown, after which he ventured into the dark officials revealed that Edison had built a vast distribution network, shipping LSD to major cities across India. Over a span of 14 months, he is believed to have delivered an estimated 600 in his locality described him as someone who kept to himself and rarely interacted. 'We never thought he would be involved in something like this. He never spoke to us much though,' said one of others, identified as Arun Thomas and Deol, are also in NCB custody in connection with the case. The agency said further investigations are underway.- EndsTune InMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Kerala
Time of India
08-07-2025
- Time of India
Court grants NCB 4-day custody
Kochi: Ernakulam first class sessions court granted four days' custody of the darknet drug trafficking case suspects, Edison Babu and Arun Thomas, to Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for comprehensive interrogation. NCB's initial request was for a five-day custody period. NCB sought custody to conduct detailed questioning of Babu, identified as the primary accused, along with his associate Thomas. Following their medical examination, both suspects were transported from Muvattupuzha Sub Jail to appear before the court. Judge K N Ajith Kumar reviewed and approved the four-day custody application. Earlier, NCB's Cochin zonal unit successfully disrupted one of India's leading darknet drug operations known as 'Ketamelon'. The operation, named 'MELON', led to the confiscation of 1,127 LSD blots, 131.66g of Ketamine, alongside cryptocurrency assets valued at Rs 70 lakh. Following extensive surveillance, on June 28, authorities seized 280 LSD blots from postal parcels in Kochi. Subsequent searches revealed 847 additional LSD blots, Ketamine, darknet access equipment including a TAILS operating system and various cryptocurrency wallets containing approximately Rs 70 lakh in USDT. According to sources from NCB, Edison worked with top-tier firms in India and abroad, operating from his personal computer at his residence in Muvattupuzha. Targeted operations that lasted nearly five months resulted in nabbing him.
Indian Express
07-07-2025
- Indian Express
Mechanical engineer from a well-to-do family, how Kerala resident Edison became a kingpin selling LSD on dark web
For most people, Mulayamkottil Edison appeared to live a perfectly ordinary life. A 35-year-old mechanical engineer from a family that was generationally wealthy in the busy Muvattupuzha town in Kerala's Ernakulam, Edison spent most of his time at home, coming out only a few minutes each day to take his toddler son to daycare about 500 metres away. That perception changed on June 29, when a team of sleuths from the Narcotic Control Bureau descended on his house to arrest him for allegedly being a level-four darknet vendor, with a wide distribution network across the country. To the town and the neighbourhood, the revelations – a far cry from the 'silent and soft-spoken man' they saw him as – came as a massive shock. 'There was nothing suspicious in his behaviour. For us, he has been an engineer who worked in Germany and later in Bengaluru before returning to his hometown a few years ago,' a neighbour told The Indian Express. At the time of his arrest, Edison — who functioned under the code name 'Ketamelon' — was allegedly caught in possession of LSD blotters – blotter paper infused with the hallucinogenic lysergic acid diethylamide , or LSD — ketamine and cryptocurrency estimated to cost Rs 1 crore. The arrest allegedly came after four months of police surveillance, and exposed a significant drug syndicate operating on the darknet — a part of the internet on encrypted networks that isn't accessible through standard search engines or web browsers. A graduate of the Viswajyothi Engineering College, Vazhakulam, Edison's was from a 'well-settled' family in Muvattupuzha – while his father retired from the state electricity board, his brother is a doctor, those who know the family told The Indian Express. According to sources in the NCB, Edison's journey to becoming a 'level-four darknet vendor' – a grading that one official said depended upon the potency of the drugs sold and 'the customer service' offered — began two years ago. A 'brilliant engineer with deep understanding of the darknet', Edison had first forayed into the murky world of synthetic drugs 10 years ago in search of some substance for his personal use, the sources said. That allegedly metamorphosed into trafficking, getting him the nickname Ketamelon – the name he also used on the dark web – due to his trafficking of ketamine in the early years. Then two years ago, he ventured into sourcing the LSD blotter from the UK-based vendor, Gunga Din, which would in turn reship these from Dr Seuss or Tribe Seuss, reckoned as the largest source of these blotter. According to sources, his associate and classmate Arun Thomas – also arrested with him – would help him. He would allegedly collect parcels reaching the foreign post office in Kochi, and eventually hand it over to Edison, who is then believed to be selling them to their wide distribution network in India – from cities such as Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune, and Chennai to regions of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. 'It is very difficult to detect the LSD blotter, which would be concealed among other items, during x-ray checking. With specific input only we can detect the drug,' one customs official said. At the time of his arrest, he was allegedly among the few dark web drug vendors from India — and the only level-four one in the country. 'In 2023, the NCB had busted the biggest darknet-based LSD cartel named Zambada. It was operating from Delhi, and two kingpins were arrested from Delhi and Jaipur. After this, a third top vendor we identified stopped his business, and that left a vacuum in the darknet. Seeing this as an opportunity, Edison started his business. It was easy for him to source LSD blotter from the UK as he had been already familiar with the sources and modus operandi,' the investigator said. Five years ago, Edison left his well-paying job in Bengaluru, and started a restaurant in Aluva, Ernakulam, with collegemate Deol K Varghese. The restaurant closed down during the pandemic. Deol was eventually arrested on charges of smuggling out Ketamine to Australia, although sources said he did not operate on the dark web. At the time of his arrest, Deol was running a resort in Idukki with his wife. According to NCB sources, Edison's family was in the dark about his dealings. 'Nobody in his family – not even his wife — knew about his dealings,' the investigator said. 'All financial dealings were through cryptocurrency, mainly Monero. He has multiple crypto wallets.' A privacy crypto launched in 2014, Monero has been increasingly gaining notoriety for its use in illicit activities such as money laundering and darknet markets. Sources, however, said Thomas, another Muvattupuzha native, 'had only a limited role in the business' but refused to elaborate. On Saturday, the NCB moved applications at the principal district and sessions court for the custody of Edison, Arun and Deol. The applications will be considered Monday. For the local community, the NCB's alleged findings that Edison was a major synthetic drug dealer came as a massive shock. 'He was very silent and interacted with only a few people in the region. Very rarely he was seen outside,' municipal councillor Jinu Antony said. 'We came to know of his arrest on July 1'. A neighbour said: 'After Edison's arrest, his family moved out from Muvattupuzha'.
Time of India
06-07-2025
- Time of India
How a Digital Drug Dealer Went About Biz Quietly with a Postal Plan
Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Popular in Epaper Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Edison Babu 's neighbours in Muvattupuzha knew him as the quiet engineer who had returned home during the pandemic. The 35-year-old former auto industry professional seemed to lead an unremarkable life in this sleepy Kerala suburb, occasionally visiting the local post office with packages: nothing unusual for someone running what appeared to be a small online they didn't know was that their mild-mannered neighbour had built India's most sophisticated darknet drug empire, one that relied heavily on the very government postal service that was meant to serve the community. In a massive operation codenamed 'MELON' last week, the Narcotics Control Bureau NCB ) arrested Babu, revealing him as the mastermind behind 'Ketamelon', India's only level-4 darknet vendor — a top-tier status that made him the country's digital drug case exposes a striking paradox: the same government infrastructure built to connect citizens and deliver legitimate goods has become the primary highway for India's most prolific online drug dealers. Authorities seized 1,127 LSD blots, 131.66 grams of ketamine and ₹70 lakh worth of cryptocurrency from Babu's operation, which had distributed over 600 drug shipments across India in just 18 modern darknet drug trade operates like a twisted version of legitimate ecommerce, complete with customer service ratings, bulk discounts and next-day 'Ketamelon' operation exemplified this new breed of digital drug dealing, where vendors are rated on a scale of 1 to 5 stars based on their potency of drugs sold and customer service — with level-4 status representing the criminal equivalent of Amazon sourced large quantities of synthetic drugs through international vendors, primarily from UK-based supplier 'Gunga Din', believed to be linked to the notorious global LSD cartel 'Dr Seuss'— reputedly the world's largest LSD distributor. Once the drugs arrived through international couriers at places like Kochi Foreign Post Office, Babu would repackage them into smaller quantities and dispatch them across India using the country's postal technical sophistication was impressive. During raids, authorities confiscated a pen drive containing TAILS OS, an operating system maintaining privacy and anonymity while browsing the internet, along with multiple cryptocurrency wallets, hard disks with incriminating documents and a hardware were all Babu needed to build his multi-million marketplace of drugs on the darknet. The darknet, despite its ominous name, is simply the regular internet accessed through browsers like Tor that mask users' identities. No special skills or underground connections are required for this. Anyone can download Tor browser and access these hidden marketplaces in minutes, making the barrier to entry surprisingly low for both buyers and flowed through cryptocurrency channels, with Monero serving as the new cash of the digital drug economy. Other popular cryptocurrencies like bitcoin don't directly reveal the user's real-world identity but, with enough information, it's possible to link transactions back to a person. Meanwhile, Monero is designed to obscure transaction details like sender, receiver and transaction amounts. Think of bitcoin like a 10-year old note on the back of which everyone who owned it previously is marked. In contrast, every unit of Monero is indistinguishable from every other unit. Every time you spend a Monero, there are other decoys being spent, and all you know is that you are one of the many who spent the money. The receiver's Monero account does not appear on the blockchain; a one-time-use address is what gets put on the blockchain, so the receiver's anonymity is also protected. The amount that gets sent is also confidential. The end result is that Monero coins have no memory, the polar opposite of fiat the digital trade offers near-perfect anonymity to both sellers and buyers, the NCB has learned to exploit the inevitable friction points where the virtual world meets physical reality. 'Though you are present in the darknet and do all your activities, you will have a bank account which is linked to your crypto account. So the traces are always present in the surface world,' said a senior NCB official. The agency can track packages to their sources, though with limited success so far, but has discovered that these tech-savvy dealers eventually must interface with the outside world — whether for collecting money or arranging to the official, the typical journey of these vendors follows a predictable pattern: 'Most of these people who become vendors in the darknet are those who start their life as crypto traders. They pass out of college, start doing crypto trading, see some quick money, make some losses. Then probably they are a little bit addicted to drugs. Then they think, okay, better than crypto.' The official noted that most vendors are also users, with 'addiction always there. At least they used to take hydro weed or something'. While Kerala typically sees under 1,000 LSD blotters seized annually, Edison alone was allegedly selling close to 10,000 each month — each priced between ₹2,500 and ₹4,000, generating substantial monthly revenues that flowed seamlessly through cryptocurrency arrest represents the culmination of a three-year crackdown that has systematically dismantled India's major darknet operations, each with names that sound more like tech startups than criminal enterprises. The pattern reveals both the scope of the problem and the peculiar creativity of digital drug 2023, the NCB struck twice, taking down 'Rambada cartel' and 'Tile shop'— two separate vendor operations that had established significant customer bases across Indian cities. The cases followed similar patterns: tech-savvy operators using cryptocurrency, sourcing from international suppliers and distributing through postal 2024, NCB brought down the operator behind 'Hare Krishna', a vendor whose religious-sounding moniker masked a sophisticated distribution network. A separate case in Salem that year netted another major operator, bringing the total to four major busts in three to the senior NCB official, that criminals needed such attractive names to draw customers itself shows how competitive the darknet marketplace has become. The NCB's success in these cases stems partly from their technical evidence gathering. As the official explained, 'The technical evidence which we had been able to gather and put on record before the court is very strong. This is the reason why, though the period of incarceration is more than a year, none of them have been able to come out on bail.' The geographic pattern is telling: operations span from Kerala to Gurgaon, with 'Kerala, Bengaluru and Gurgaon becoming hotspots where these people get into crypto trading and also get lured into darknet and drug markets'. The common thread is India's IT-enabled services hubs, where 'the number of people who are having crypto accounts and crypto wallets will be very high'.Most arrests follow a similar investigative trail: months of surveillance, intercepted packages and raids that uncover sophisticated digital infrastructures. In the earlier 'Zambada' case — named after a Mexican cartel — the NCB arrested 14 people and seized 29,013 LSD blots, 472 grams of MDMA and ₹51.38 lakh in cash, revealing the scale these operations can of the most striking aspects of India's darknet drug trade isn't its digital sophistication — it's its reliance on decidedly analogue government infrastructure. India Post, the country's sprawling postal network designed to connect remote villages with urban centres, has inadvertently become the logistics backbone for illegal drug vulnerability is both systemic and shocking. As the senior NCB official bluntly acknowledged: 'The major cause of concern is the parcels which are going inside India. So once the contraband somehow enters into India, there is virtually no SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) in place for these courier and post office persons to do any scan or KYC check. Say, for example, a person is sending a parcel from Kochi to Delhi, absolutely, he can send anything. He can also send a pistol.'This creates an absurd theatre where the same postal workers who deliver government benefits like pensions, family letters and legitimate ecommerce packages also unknowingly ferry illegal drugs across the country. Babu made his twice-weekly trips to the Muvattupuzha post office like any small business owner, his packages blending seamlessly with legitimate commerce. The NCB has attempted to address this through regular meetings with India Post and private courier services, emphasising enforcement of KYC of the persons who come to book the parcels and CCTV cameras at the place where the person hand over the parcel. They've also pushed for Aadhaar-based verification after discovering 'multiple cases where fake Aadhaar details are being submitted'.Beyond these conventional measures, the agency has developed sophisticated pattern recognition tactics. Investigators now flag neighbourhoods where 'only a few houses or shops receive foreign shipments while larger neighbourhoods receive no such shipments'— an anomaly that often signals drug trafficking operations. The NCB is essentially laying digital nets at the interface points where virtual crime meets physical financial trail offers another avenue for detection. When crypto dealers convert their digital earnings to traditional bank accounts, these transactions can trigger suspicious transaction alerts. 'There's a suspicious transaction alerts that is always there, which is already being given by banks to the income tax department,' noted the senior official, though he acknowledged that 'the number of STRs (suspicious transaction reports) is also very high,' making it challenging to separate legitimate crypto trading from criminal proceeds. But the fundamental postal problem remains unchanged. When asked directly about existing checks and balances, the senior official was refreshingly candid: 'There's no checks and balances to prevent it.'
