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NCB busts pan-India darknet drug network called ‘Team Kalki’
NCB busts pan-India darknet drug network called ‘Team Kalki’
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has dismantled a pan-India drug distribution network operating under the name ‘Team Kalki’ through the darknet since January 2025. Two accused, identified by the agency as Anurag Thakur and his associate Vikas Rathi, have been arrested so far.
During the operation, the NCB seized 2,338 LSD blotters; 160 MDMA (Ecstasy) pills weighing over 77 gm; 73.61 gm of charas (hashish); 3.64 gm of amphetamine; and 3.6 kg of liquid MDMA from 13 domestically intercepted parcels, and two parcels originating from the Netherlands and linked to the network.
‘Team Kalki’ was being operated by the two accused, who are “habitual offenders and were previously arrested in cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act”, the agency said.
“Vikas Rathi had earlier been lodged in Tihar Jail in connection with a charas trafficking case registered by the Delhi Police Special Cell, while Anurag Thakur had been imprisoned in a methamphetamine trafficking case registered by the Delhi Police Crime Branch,” it said on Sunday (March 8, 2026).
Both were in Tihar Jail around the same time, during which they came together and later operated the darknet drug network, the NCB said.
“Initially, the accused were active on the darkweb forum ‘Dread’. Once established there, they also started their operations through the encrypted ‘Session’ messaging application for vending and order fulfilment,” the Central agency said.
Its initial probe has indicated that the network had a pan-India distribution footprint, the NCB said. Under the scanner are some consignments intercepted and seized by law enforcement agencies before delivery in Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala, and Karnataka.
The network is suspected to have dispatched more than 1,000 consignments since January 2025. A cryptocurrency wallet linked to the operation has also been detected.
The accused sourced LSD and MDMA from international darknet vendors based in the Netherlands, Poland, and Germany. Orders from customers across India were received through encrypted platforms.
“Upon receiving orders from customers, one of the accused would relay the order details to his associate, who handled the packaging and dispatch of the narcotic consignments. The drugs were subsequently sent to customers across various parts of the country through courier and parcel services,” the agency said.
The investigation also uncovered the alleged use of the “dead drop” delivery technique, wherein parcels containing narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances were placed at pre-determined locations instead of being handed over directly to customers.
Buyers were subsequently informed of the location details, enabling them to collect the parcels. This method was used only in limited areas in Delhi, and primarily for customers with a history of multiple prior orders.
For pan-India deliveries, the accused predominantly used courier/parcel services. In order to avoid detection, a different courier or parcel service booking office was used for each consignment, the NCB said.
The accused accepted payments through cryptocurrencies using unhosted wallets, including Monero and USDT. The proceeds were routed through multiple intermediary wallets, with conversion charges of up to 10%, to convert the funds into USDT, which was then stored in cold wallets. In certain instances, mule KYC-compliant wallets were also used to route the proceeds into the formal banking system, it said.
The NCB found that, to obscure the transaction trail, temporary unhosted wallets were created dynamically for receiving USDT payments, and the funds received were immediately transferred via multiple layers of intermediary wallets to beneficiary ones.
“The NCB is continuing the investigation to identify other associates, trace financial transactions, and uncover the international supply chain linked to the network,” it added.
In the past, the agency has conducted several major operations, including Operation Ketamelon in 2025 and Operation Zambada in 2023, against networks linked to international darknet markets.
Published - March 08, 2026 09:48 pm IST
narcotics & drug trafficking / crime, law and justice
Source: TheHindu
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