Cocaine worth Rs 10 crore seized in Amritsar linked to Delhi drug bust

The Delhi Police seized cocaine worth Rs 10 crore in Amritsar following a raid based on a tip-off from a UK resident, arrested in connection with the Rs 5,000-crore Delhi drug haul.

In Short

• Delhi Police special cell raids in Punjab's Amritsar
• Seizes cocaine worth Rs 10 crore and a Fortuner
• Fresh haul linked to Rs 5,000 crore Delhi drug bust

The Delhi Police team probing the Rs 5,000-crore drug haul has seized cocaine worth Rs 10 crore from Amritsar, Punjab, after a raid, officials said on Sunday.

The raid was based on information received from Jitendra Pal Singh, a UK resident arrested in Amritsar on October 4 in connection with the Delhi drug bust, according to sources.

A Toyota Fortuner car was also seized during the raid, which was conducted in a village near Amritsar, close to the Nepal border.

On October 2, the Delhi Police made one of the biggest drug busts ever seen in the city, seizing over 560 kilograms of cocaine and 40 kilograms of hydroponic marijuana, estimated to be worth around Rs 5,620 crore, from Mahipalpur in South Delhi.

The marijuana is suspected to have originated from Phuket, Thailand, and was brought to India via the air route. The cocaine is believed to have been sourced from West Asian countries and various Indian states. Officials added that the accused mostly paid in cryptocurrency to acquire the drugs and later sold them.

Five people--Tushar Goyal (40), Jitendra Pal Singh, alias Jassi (40), Himanshu Kumar (27), Aurangzeb Siddiqui (23), and Bharat Kumar Jain (48)--were arrested, with Goyal identified as the mastermind.

The investigation revealed that the gang was planning to sell large quantities of drugs at concerts, rave parties, and upscale localities in Delhi and other metropolitan cities. Goyal was found to have international links.

Goyal’s connection with the Congress party has sparked a major political row, with BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, criticising the opposition party.

The mastermind's purported Facebook account features a profile picture with a tiger, and his bio mentions that he is the "Chairman of Delhi Pradesh RTI Cell of DYPC, Indian Youth Congress." However, the Indian Youth Congress stated that he was expelled from the organisation in October 2022 for indulging in anti-party activities.

On Saturday, PM Modi took a dig at the Congress, saying the party wants to push the youth of the country toward drug use and use that money to win elections. Amit Shah accused Congress of turning all of North India into a hotspot for illegal drug trade when it was in power before 2014.