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NCB busts Dehradun lab making banned ‘jihadi drug’ Captagon

NCB busts Dehradun lab making banned ‘jihadi drug’ Captagon; hunt on for another Syrian national linked to network
NCB busts Dehradun lab making banned ‘jihadi drug’ Captagon; hunt on for another Syrian national linked to network
31.5kg of Captagon was seized from a house in Delhi’s Neb Sarai and 196.2 kg from a container at the Mundra Port in Gujarat.
Updated on: May 18, 2026 7:47 AM IST By Prawesh Lama Share via Copy link The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has busted a clandestine laboratory in Dehradun where a Syrian national manufactured Captagon, a banned synthetic stimulant popularly known as the ‘jihadi drug’, and arrested an Indian national who had leased the place to another Syrian, police officers aware of the matter said. NCB, under Operation RAGEPILL, has successfully unearthed an international drug syndicate involved in the trafficking of Captagon, leading to the seizure of approximately 227.7 Kgs of Captagon tablets/powder and the arrest of one overstaying Syrian national, who is a member of the syndicate, on Saturday. (Narcotics Control Bureau/ ANI) The NCB on Saturday night unearthed the laboratory after questioning Alabras Ahmed, the Syrian national who was arrested on May 11, and is the lookout for a second Syrian national who prepared the drug in the Dehradun laboratory, the officers added. Last week, 31.5kg of Captagon was seized from a house in Delhi’s Neb Sarai, where Ahmed lived, and 196.2 kg from a container at the Mundra Port in Gujarat. Both seizures were cumulatively valued at ₹182 crore. Following this, Union home minister Amit Shah announced on Saturday that the NCB had seized the first-ever consignment of Captagon, valued at ₹182 crore and arrested a foreign national. Also Read: Key Myanmar-based trafficker arrested in NCB crackdown on cross-border drug syndicate An officer aware of the matter, who asked not to be named, said, “The questioning of Syrian national Alabras Ahmed led us to the illegal laboratory in Dehradun where the pills were manufactured. The 31.5 kg Captagon found in his Neb Sarai house was manufactured here, while the 196.2 kg of Captagon found at Mundra Port was imported from Syria.” The officer added that the factory owner, Sanjay Kumar, charged the Syrian national ₹50,000 daily rent for using the premises to manufacture the drug. “This is the first case to come to light of drug traffickers manufacturing Captagon in a clandestine laboratory,” he added. Kumar, police said, is a resident of Saharanpur, who was earlier arrested for misusing his food license to make chemicals at his factory in Dehradun in 2025, and was out on bail. “For 14 days, he had already taken ₹700,000 from Ahmed and manufactured over 200,000 pills (nearly 32 kg). A Syrian national known to Ahmed put him in touch with Kumar and arranged the factory on rent. The man also arranged another Syrian to manufacture the tablet,” the officer added. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Prawesh Lama Prawesh Lama covers crime, policing, and issues of security in Delhi. Raised in Darjeeling, educated in Mumbai, he also looks at special features on social welfare in the National Capital. Ncb Narcotics Control Bureau Delhi Dehradun Check India news real-time updates, latest news, CBSE 12th Result 2026 LIVE from India on Hindustan Times and more across India. Home/India News/NCB Busts Dehradun Lab Making Banned ‘jihadi Drug’ Captagon; Hunt On For Another Syrian National Linked To Network See LessThe Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has busted a clandestine laboratory in Dehradun where a Syrian national manufactured Captagon, a banned synthetic stimulant popularly known as the ‘jihadi drug’, and arrested an Indian national who had leased the place to another Syrian, police officers aware of the matter said.
The NCB on Saturday night unearthed the laboratory after questioning Alabras Ahmed, the Syrian national who was arrested on May 11, and is the lookout for a second Syrian national who prepared the drug in the Dehradun laboratory, the officers added.
Last week, 31.5kg of Captagon was seized from a house in Delhi’s Neb Sarai, where Ahmed lived, and 196.2 kg from a container at the Mundra Port in Gujarat. Both seizures were cumulatively valued at ₹182 crore.
Following this, Union home minister Amit Shah announced on Saturday that the NCB had seized the first-ever consignment of Captagon, valued at ₹182 crore and arrested a foreign national.
Also Read: Key Myanmar-based trafficker arrested in NCB crackdown on cross-border drug syndicate
An officer aware of the matter, who asked not to be named, said, “The questioning of Syrian national Alabras Ahmed led us to the illegal laboratory in Dehradun where the pills were manufactured. The 31.5 kg Captagon found in his Neb Sarai house was manufactured here, while the 196.2 kg of Captagon found at Mundra Port was imported from Syria.”
The officer added that the factory owner, Sanjay Kumar, charged the Syrian national ₹50,000 daily rent for using the premises to manufacture the drug.
“This is the first case to come to light of drug traffickers manufacturing Captagon in a clandestine laboratory,” he added.
Kumar, police said, is a resident of Saharanpur, who was earlier arrested for misusing his food license to make chemicals at his factory in Dehradun in 2025, and was out on bail.
“For 14 days, he had already taken ₹700,000 from Ahmed and manufactured over 200,000 pills (nearly 32 kg). A Syrian national known to Ahmed put him in touch with Kumar and arranged the factory on rent. The man also arranged another Syrian to manufacture the tablet,” the officer added.
Source: HindustanTimes
Related Posts: drugs,delhi,dehradun,jihadi drug,drug smuggling,Captagon
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