NCB dismantles meth lab linked to Mexican cartel; Tihar prison warden, involved chemist in Mumbai

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Tuesday (October 29) announced that it had dismantled a methamphetamine manufacturing laboratory in Gautam Budh Nagar, near Delhi, that had links with Mexican drug cartel Cartel De Jalisco Nueva Generacion.

According to NCB Deputy Director General Gyaneshwar Singh, the arrest led to the arrest of four persons, including a chemist from Mumbai and a jail guard from Tihar. Indian nationals reportedly led the operation in an industrial area.

Authorities are also looking for a Mexican national believed to be part of the cartel who was reportedly testing the drug’s purity. NCB launched the operation on October 25 following intelligence about a synthetic drugs laboratory operating in Delhi NCR area.

The Cartel De Jalisco Nueva Generacion, recognized by the US DEA as one of the five largest transnational criminal organizations in the world, is known for smuggling large amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl-laced heroin into the United States.

The raid on a factory in the industrial area of ​​Kasana found about 95 kg of methamphetamine in both solid and liquid forms, as well as chemicals such as acetone and sodium hydroxide, specialized machinery and imported equipment used in the production of the drug.

The operation also involved the Special Cell of Delhi Police due to the presence of the network in multiple NCR locations. NCB noted that a West Delhi businessman and a Tihar jail guard played a key role in setting up the illegal laboratory, procuring chemicals and importing machinery.

The businessman, who was earlier arrested in a drug case and had met the director while in Tihar jail, was instrumental in kick-starting the operation. A chemist from Mumbai was hired to manufacture the drugs, while a Mexican cartel member from Delhi handled quality controls.

Currently, the four arrested persons are in police custody for three days while the NCB investigates the cartel’s network, financial assets and logistical operations.

This is the fifth meth lab the NCB has dismantled this year, as drug mafias increasingly turn to clandestine labs in industrial areas to evade detection by local authorities.

Earlier this month, Delhi Police said made one of the largest drug busts in the city’s history, with more than 560 kilograms of cocaine worth around Rs 2,000 crore seized.