A Gang of Foreign Students Who Peddle Drugs from the Darknet Busted

The rise of drugs from the Darknet is getting to a high peak in India. The steps to arrest peddlers and enforce the law on them have led to several raids in the country. Many have been previously arrested from the raid.

One group which has been making a headline in Darknet bust are foreign students. A gang of foreign students was not lucky, as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Excise Enforcement Directorate laid their icy hands on them.

The gang was revealed to be six Nigerian students. A raid which happened in the Twin city led to the seizure of cocaine and a large quantity of LSD.

The Special Investigation Team launched a successful operation on Friday night, in the residents of these gangs, in Shaikpet. A source has revealed that the raid was made upon information given to the Special Investigation Team.

The STI has been very successful so far in the fight against the penetration and the trade of illicit drugs from the Darknet. These are students, and it is very right to predict that a greater number of students in India are into the business of Darknet drug trade.

This is not the first time a Nigerian gang has been arrested in a drug related raid. In early April of this year, two Nigerian nationals were busted by the Task Force near Qutb Shahi tombs. According to a report, the arrested individuals were in possession of cocaine worth 65 grams. Rotimi Olusola who was part of the arrested peddlers was also in police custody in 2015 after the Jubilee Hill police arrested him for two different cases.

The only difference between the current arrested drug dealers and the earlier members of the gang is that the earlier peddlers came to India under the shadow of doing business, while the current dealers came to India as students.

A close source has revealed that the Excise personnel managed to arrest one member of the gang as the rest escaped after seeing the personnel coming in their direction. The Excise personnel used their power to force the arrested drug dealer to provide information on the escaped members of the gang. Based on the given information, two others were arrested in the process of delivering cocaine to some customers at the five star hotel in the Panjagutta area.

The various post offices and ports in the country seem to have a loophole which gives the peddlers an advantage to smuggle drugs to India through the Darknet marketplace. After the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence exposed a racket which involves the smuggling of Alprazolam from Mumbai to the USA and the UK, drug fighters in the country begun to question the system in the country which makes it easy for drugs to move in and out.

An official has said to reporters that: “There is no stringent checking of export consignments, making it easier for consignments to pass without hurdles. “

Some drug users in the country do not only distribute drugs to users on the street, but they also export them to customers in different part of the world. The official said the peddlers take advantage over how soft the security is, in the country: “So, customers began procuring them from India. Here, it is easy to manipulate and drugs are offered cheaper.”

Loopholes in postal services are not problems found only in India, but even most of the advanced countries.

It was later revealed after the Nigerian nationals were arrested, that some individuals get their supply from these gang members to resell them to people in their various hideouts. An investigation confirmed that these are people who made it to India to be educated and give the knowledge back to their communities in Nigeria. However, the monetary rewards in the drug business forced them to be partners in drug crime without a second thought of what lies ahead of them.

Their primary targets were students from well to do homes who are in possession of credit cards, mobile phones, and more. It is surprising to hear that some of the customers to whom the drugs were supplied to were renowned personalities in the film industries and other high-status people who were in the posh hotel.

The students operated from the Darknet websites and ensured that all orders made by buyers are sent by postal couriers. India has recently opted to scan packages for narcotics in their postal couriers.

It is expected that the Special Investigation Team will keep up with the raid, to ensure that drug trade becomes a thing of the past in India.