Meth lab busted in NCR; Tihar Jail warden, Mexican national among 5 arrested
New Delhi (PTI): A meth lab having links to a Mexican drug cartel was recently uncovered in Noida and five people, including a Tihar Jail warden and two Delhi-based businessmen, were arrested in connection with it, the NCB said on Tuesday.
In a statement, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said the lab was busted in the Kasna industrial area of Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar district on October 25 and about 95 kg of methamphetamine, a synthetic drug, was found on the premises both in solid and liquid forms.
The Special Dell of the Delhi Police was also roped in by the federal anti-narcotics agency as "the drug network has footprints across several places in the National Capital Region".
During a preliminary enquiry, it has come out that a Delhi-based businessman, found at the factory during the raid, along with the Tihar Jail warden, was "instrumental" in establishing the illegal factory, procuring chemicals required for the drugs from various sources and importing the machinery, NCB Deputy Director General (Operations) Gyaneshwar Singh said.
He said a Mumbai-based chemist was roped in by these people to manufacture the drug. The quality of the drug was tested by a Mexican cartel member residing in Delhi, Singh added.
The official said these four people were produced before a special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act court here on October 27 which sent them to three-day NCB custody.
An "important member" of the syndicate and "close associate" of the Delhi-based businessman was apprehended in follow-up action from Delhi's Rajouri Garden area, he said, adding that this person was being produced before a court for his custody.
The Delhi businessman, as per the NCB, was earlier arrested by the Department of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) in a separate NDPS case and had been lodged in Tihar Jail, where he came in contact with the warden who later became his "accomplice".
The agency said the Mexican drug cartel identified in this case is CJNG -- Cartel De Jalisco Nueva Generacion.
Chemicals like acetone, sodium hydroxide, methylene chloride, premium-grade ethanol, toluene, red phosphorus, ethyl acetate and imported machinery for manufacturing synthetic drugs were also seized from the clandestine lab, the NCB said.
DDG Singh said forward and backward linkages as well as financial trail and assets generated by the accused through this illegal drug trafficking are being investigated now.
The agency claims to have busted at least five clandestine labs this year so far in Gandhinagar and Amreli in Gujarat, Jodhpur and Sirohi in Rajasthan and Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
In the Bhopal case, a joint operation was undertaken by the NCB and the Gujarat ATS at the Bagroda industrial estate and about 907 kg of mephedrone and 7,000 kg of some other chemicals, along with machinery, were seized.
The NCB believes that considering the low cost of production of synthetic drugs like methamphetamine and mephedrone, the drug mafia is "increasingly shifting" to setting up such clandestine labs in industrial areas so that local law enforcement agencies are not alerted by the routine transportation of material and machinery, waste generated from the laboratories and toxic fumes coming out of chimneys during chemical processing.
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CBI faces flak over unprofessional wanted ad: ‘Ball’ instead of ‘bail’, unclear photos raise eyebrow
New Delhi: India’s premier investigative agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), is under criticism after the release of a public advertisement seeking information about three wanted accused in a counterfeiting case. Far from serving its purpose, the ad has sparked ridicule and concern over the agency’s professionalism.
The CBI ad, intended to appeal to the public for information about three Nigerian nationals, Dosunmu Oluwatosin Abimbola, Sanni Aminat Olajumoke, and Adenowo Adekunle Azeez, has been criticised for glaring errors and poor execution.
Journalist Sanket Upadhyay, speaking on his YouTube channel Red Mike, slammed the ad, questioning who drafts such notices. Pointing to the hazy images of the accused, he remarked that “to get the reward, people should at least be able to see the image,” and sarcastically described the visuals as resembling a “seventh-time photocopy.”
The most glaring mistake? The word “bail” is repeatedly misspelled as “ball.” The ad reads: “On being granted ball, they have jumped the ball, absconded…”, a language slip that has not gone unnoticed, with social media users mocking the agency for its linguistic negligence.
In addition to the spelling error, the photographs of the accused included in the ad have been called out for being “beyond recognition.” Blurry, pixelated and unclear, the images fail to serve the very function of helping identify the accused, prompting users to ask, “Is this a CBI Ad or a joke?”
The ad mentions that each accused carries a reward of ₹50,000 for information leading to their arrest. The three individuals are accused in a 2009 case registered by the CBI’s Economic Offences Unit (RC SIB 2009 E0003, EOU-V, New Delhi) under sections 120-B, 489-A, and 489-B of the Indian Penal Code. According to the CBI, they were granted bail but subsequently absconded and have been declared proclaimed offenders by a Delhi court.
While the agency is urging the public to share any leads, critics say the CBI must first ensure its outreach materials are accurate, clear, and professional.
The CBI has not yet issued any clarification or correction regarding the ad.
Contact information listed in the ad:
Superintendent of Police, CBI, EOU-V, 4th Floor, Plot 5-B, Opp. Electronics Niketan, Lodhi Road, New Delhi – 110003
Telefax: 011-24362132
Email: speou5del@cbl.gov.in (misspelt in original ad)
CBI Control Room: 011-24360334, 24362755, 24361273
