NCB op in Kochi busts India’s top darknet drug syndicate

Kochi: The narcotics control bureau's (NCB) Cochin zonal unit has 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."Investigations revealed that ‘Ketamelon' was India's only Level 4 darknet vendor — a top-tier status in India — operating actively over the past two years. The name derives from the vendor's early involvement in Ketamine smuggling. Drugs were primarily sourced from a UK-based vendor Gunga Din, a known reshipper of the globally infamous Dr Seuss (also known as DS or Tribe Seuss), believed to be the largest LSD source in the world," read the statement issued by NCB.The operation's distribution network extended across India, delivering LSD to Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Bhopal, Patna and regions in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Officials estimate over 600 deliveries happened in 14 months. The seized LSD's street value exceeds Rs 35 lakh, with individual blots selling between Rs 2,500 and Rs 4,000.This operation follows NCB's previous success against the ‘Zambada' cartel in 2023, which yielded 29,000 LSD blots and Rs 51 lakh in currency. The current investigation continues with suspects in custody, whilst authorities trace cryptocurrency holdings on platforms like Binance.