After Massive Busts Of Party Drugs in Mumbai and Bengaluru, Actors and Musicians Are Being Closely Watched

For months, researchers have been collecting data on how the pandemic has affected drug use. While the start of lockdown season might have seen a temporary interruption in the illegal drug trade in India, thanks to sealed borders and directives to have everyone stay home, over time, the dealers got creative with their methods. From concealing the goods under LED lights to between packets of soap, Indian drug traffickers have been taking more risks to move their supplies amid the pandemic.

Now, in a major drug bust in the cities of Mumbai and Bengaluru, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has seized over 4,300 MDMA pills, 180 LSD blots, and cash worth over Rs 2.2 lakh (around $ 2990).

On August 10, the Mumbai unit of the NCB seized over 3,000 MDMA pills—commonly known as molly or ecstasy—weighing almost a kilogram, in Mumbai. They were reported to having been trafficked from Belgium discreetly in false cavities of parcel cartons containing soft toys. The receiver of this parcel, who had been selling ecstasy to college students mainly, has ordered the drugs online in exchange for bitcoins. The team in Mumbai also recovered ecstasy worth 17.5 grams from a couple in Mumbai. 

On August 21, the Bengaluru unit of the NCB seized 145 MDMA pills and around Rs 2.2 lakh (around $2,990) from an apartment in Bengaluru's Kalyan Nagar. They further seized 96 pills of MDMA weighing 40 grams and 180 LSD blots in the same city. And on getting more inputs, the kingpin of the syndicate was also intercepted—270 MDMA pills were recovered from her house. Last month, NCB's Bangalore unit had also seized a total of 750 MDMA pills sourced from Germany, at the Foreign Post Office in  Bangalore. 

“The preliminary investigation has revealed that the accused used to supply drugs to affluent sections of the society including prominent musicians and actors as well as to college students and youngsters,” said K P Malhotra, Deputy Director of the NCB. The NCB is investigating all other links involved in this case to bust a wider syndicate trafficking party drugs into India.

“During the lockdown period, traffickers have increasingly resorted to moving large quantities of drugs in the guise of essential commodities like vegetables, medicines and building materials that were allowed to be transported freely across the states,” Malhotra told VICE News recently.

According to the World Drug Report 2020 by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), ecstasy is primarily manufactured in Europe, which accounts for two-thirds of all ecstasy laboratories dismantled worldwide. All the drugs seized currently had also been sourced from Belgium. Between March and July, the Chennai Air Customs Authority has seized 11 different shipments of party drugs like MDMA and LSD coming in via international mail.

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