Cannabis packed in e-commerce bags, sold through Telegram, home delivery in Greater Noida; 3 arrested

Three men were arrested on Monday in Greater Noida with 55.124 kilograms of cannabis, allegedly worth around ₹55 lakh, for running an online drug supply network that used Telegram and e-commerce deliveries to sell the contraband door-to-door.According to the police, the SWAT team and Bisrakh police made the arrests from an under-construction building near Golden Grand Road in Greater Noida West. (Sunil Ghosh / Hindustan Times/ Representative)According to the police, the SWAT team and Bisrakh police made the arrests from an under-construction building near Golden Grand Road in Greater Noida West. The operation relied on local intelligence inputs and information gathered through beat policing.The cops also seized a sedan car allegedly used to transport the contraband and three mobile phones used in the operation.The arrested men have been identified as 30-year-old Alam Khan, a resident of Loni Mustafabad in Ghaziabad; 26-year-old Wasim, a resident of Ratol village in Baghpat; and 19-year-old Lakshya Rathore, a resident of Chotpur Colony in Sector 63, Gautam Budh Nagar.How the accused ran their operationAccording to the deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Central Noida, Praveen Ranjan Singh, the suspects procured cannabis at relatively low prices from Odisha and other regions, brought it to the district and repackaged it in plastic bags bearing the branding of different e-commerce companies to avoid suspicion. They allegedly used Telegram to receive orders and supplied the drugs through online parcel deliveries as well as door-to-door distribution in a car."The suspects had developed a supply network in which they procured cannabis from Odisha and other areas, repackaged it in bags resembling those used by e-commerce companies and delivered it to customers on demand. They were operating a Telegram channel and using online parcel services to coordinate orders and deliveries," the DCP said.The seizure included 55 kg and 124 grams of cannabis, estimated by police to be worth ₹55 lakh, a sedan car and three mobile phones allegedly used in the drug trafficking operation.Case filed, probe onA case has been registered against the three accused under sections 8 and 20 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at Bisrakh police station. The cops also found a previous NDPS case, registered under sections 8, 20, 29, and 37, against Wasim at the Garhmukteshwar police station in Uttar Pradesh's Hapur in 2024.Police said further investigation was underway to establish the source of the drugs, trace the alleged buyers and identify other links in the network."We are investigating the source of the contraband, the extent of their customer network and whether other people were involved in the supply chain," added the DCP.