Rs 100 core drug cartel busted by Delhi Police spans across continents

A drug cartel that operated like a call centre from Africa with online delivery based mechanism, and was busted here had links to several countries including Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the United Kingdom, Delhi Police claimed on Friday. Five African nationals have been arrested so far and drugs worth more than Rs 100 crore in the international market were seized in the operation, police said.

The syndicate allegedly headed by Nigeria-based kingpin Callistus alias Kalis spanned across continents, they added.

Additional Deputy Commisioner of Police (Crime) Mangesh Kashyap, the cartel received operated through a central command in Nigeria, where handlers received orders from Indian-clients via fake call centre numbers and social media and they relayed them to delivery agents based in Delhi.

"Cocaine, MDMA and ganja were trafficked using encrypted messaging apps, forged documents and a structured distribution network of Indian-based African nationals. The cartel's Indian arm operated using a logistics model inspired by food delivery apps. Deliveries were made based on customer's live locations," he said.

Investigations revealed that the syndicate maintained detailed ledgers of transactions, with records dating back to 2019 showing monthly sales exceeding Rs 1 crore in areas like Vasant Kunj alone, the officer added.

Delivery and cash handoffs were designed to maintain multiple operational layers, insulating the top brass from exposure. To maintain anonymity, delivery agents wore specific markers such as checked shirts and black helmets.

Orders were processed through a centralised "call centre" run from Nigeria, with arrested operatives revealing that if one delivery agent was caught, they were quickly replaced to avoid disruption in the chain.

The case came to light on June 13, when police intercepted a suspicious parcel at a courier facility in Moti Nagar and seized 895 grams of MDMA. This led them to Kameni Philipp, who had a fake Cameroonian passport, and he was found in possession of more than two kilograms of pure cocaine molded into waterproof bricks.

During interrogation, Philipp revealed that the internal functioning of the cartel, including how UK-based phone numbers were used to mask the origin of instructions and how vehicles were identified using car registration numbers for swift handovers.

Philip alias Tall Guy, another delivery agent, operated in South Delhi and Saket and followed instructions received over social media calls. He also disclosed that payments and stock pickups were managed through anonymous drop locations to shield higher-ups.

Based on further leads, police arrested three more foreign nationals -- Adore, Kelechi Chikwe alias Victor and Ibe Chinedu Austin -- from various locations across Delhi A total of 2.7 kilogram of cocaine, 1 kilogram of MDMA, more than 1 kilogram of cannabis and Rs 2.7 lakh in cash were seized from the accused, police said.

Adore, who ran the drug hub from a makeshift kitchen in Chhatarpur, disclosed that he had received more than seven kilograms of cocaine from Kalis and laundered the proceeds through through Nigerian shell firms and hawala channels.

Forged passports from Nigeria, Cameroon and Cote d'Ivoire were also recovered by the police team.

The syndicate allegedly smuggled Colombian cocaine into India using Indian women couriers -- believed to have lower risk profile at International airports -- and then adulterated the drugs locally to increase yield five fold.

Police said the cartel had generated more than Rs 85 crore through its India operations in just the past six months.

Separate courier-based channels were used to export MDMA abroad, while hawala networks were employed to launder and remit drug proceeds to Nigeria, police added.

Efforts are on to trace other operatives and financial links. Delhi Police has also initiated communication with foreign law enforcement agencies for international coordination, officials said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)