Narcotics Control Bureau officials on Monday arrested an employee of an IT firm in Manyata Tech Park in connection with illegal Internet pharmacies and call centres that are believed to be a part of an international illegal drug racket.
Khalid Pasha, who was arrested on Monday, is the fourth person to booked by the NCB. The others are Wasim Akram, who had joined a multinational IT company in October 2017 by submitting fake work experience documents, Salim Pasha and Mohammed Suhail Ahmed.
In April 2017, the NCB had searched the office of an online drug store in Thanisandra where the accused had set up a call centre to sell banned psychotropes and prescription drugs to clients in the U.S., Australia and countries in Europe. Officials believe drugs were couriered to their clients.
During the search, around 4,235 tablets of Alprazolam (used to treat anxiety and panic disorders), Amphetamine (central nervous system stimulant), Diazepam (used to treat anxiety), Clonazepam (for seizures and panic disorder), Lorazepam (anxiety disorder) and Butalbital (barbiturate), among others were seized. Officials also seized a large number of tablets that are variants of Viagra. The psychotropic drugs were valued at ₹16 lakh and the others at about ₹40 lakh.
All four have been booked under the NDPS Act and taken into custody.
Sunil Kumar Sinha, Zonal Director of NCB, said that they were working on specific intelligence. The call centre had an exhaustive database of clients. "People in the call centre would receive as well as make calls and supply to clients via post," said Mr. Sinha.
The gang would pass of the consignments as generic drugs and courier them by air or ship, said an NCB official, adding that their margins were high.
“For example, if they purchase a drug here for ₹30, it would be sold for $30. Even if five to 10 out of 100 shipments were seized, the gang would make a huge profit,” an official added.
Modus operandi
* Accused ran a call centre in Thanisandra
* Orders for banned psychotropes and prescription drugs were taken
* Clients were in the U.S., Australia and countries in Europe
* They were couriered under the guise of generic drugs
