New Delhi, February 21 – The Delhi Police have cracked a state-wide drug syndicate operating between Uttar Pradesh and the national capital, arresting five individuals and recovering 326.85 grams of heroin (also known as "smack"), valued at approximately Rs 60 lakh, officials said on Saturday.
The operation was carried out by the Anti-Narcotics Squad of the East District as part of an ongoing campaign against drug trafficking, implemented under a zero-tolerance policy towards narcotics.
Police said the operation began on the night of February 12, after receiving specific information that a suspected drug dealer would deliver contraband near NH-24–Noida Link Road, close to the Samaypur village in the Pandav Nagar area.
Acting on this tip-off, a police team laid a trap and apprehended Ameen Khan (24), a resident of the Budaun district in Uttar Pradesh. During the search, 291 grams of "smack," classified as a commercial quantity under the NDPS Act, were recovered from his possession.
During interrogation, Khan allegedly revealed the identities of his suppliers based in Budaun. Subsequently, police secured his custody and conducted raids in Uttar Pradesh, leading to the arrest of two individuals identified as Rashid (38) and Balbir (34). An additional 35.85 grams of "smack" was recovered from Balbir, police said.
Investigators said that Khan had previously been arrested in 2023 in a narcotics case in Meerut and had been living in Delhi's Shahdara area for the past five months, allegedly supplying drugs across the Delhi-NCR region.
Analysis of call detail records later revealed the involvement of two local associates — Asif (27) and Ikrar (42), both residents of Trilokpuri in east Delhi — who were allegedly distributing the contraband. Both were subsequently arrested. They were also wanted in an earlier NDPS case registered at the Mayur Vihar police station.
Police said that all five accused were part of an organized inter-state network supplying narcotics from Uttar Pradesh to local dealers in Delhi.
Further investigation is underway to trace additional links and dismantle the remaining network, officials added.