Sun Jan 19 10:30:07 UTC 2025: ## Delhi Police Bust International Dark Web Drug Ring, Seize ₹2 Crore Worth of Weed

**New Delhi, January 19, 2025** – The Delhi Crime Branch announced the dismantling of an international drug trafficking cartel operating through the dark web, resulting in the seizure of six kilograms of hydroponic marijuana worth over ₹2 crore. The operation, codenamed “Operation Kawach,” preceded the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections and targeted illicit activities including drugs, liquor, and illegal arms.

Two key figures in the syndicate, Abdul Malik (46) and Mayank Nayyar (35), both Delhi residents, were arrested. The investigation began after police intercepted several drug parcels containing over five kilograms of hydroponic weed imported from the USA at the Foreign Post Office. Despite the parcels using fake recipient addresses, data mining and analysis of internet communications led police to Malik. A subsequent raid on his premises yielded an additional 871 grams of marijuana and a mobile phone used for drug transactions.

Malik’s interrogation revealed Nayyar as the syndicate’s leader. Nayyar, a BBA graduate from Gurugram, allegedly turned to drug trafficking after his family’s cancer medicine export business suffered losses during the COVID-19 pandemic. He utilized his knowledge of the dark web to order high-demand hydroponic weed from the US, using cryptocurrencies for payment and employing a sophisticated “dead drop” delivery system and privacy-centric blockchain-based communication apps to avoid detection.

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