Police said gang used to call up their customers over WhatsApp and take their location (Representational)
With the arrest of four people, police on Tuesday claimed to have busted a gang involved in drug trafficking in Greater Noida. The gang's customer base primarily included IT professionals, service sector workers, and young college students, a senior officer said.
Also, the gang supplied cannabis to customers allegedly by keeping small packets inside envelopes of an e-commerce company in order to evade suspicion, Additional DCP (Greater Noida) Ashok Kumar said.
"They used to call up their customers over WhatsApp and take their location. Next, they would deliver the cannabis to the customers placing them inside envelopes of the company. They would make the delivery even in public places because people would think it's a normal delivery and nothing illegal," the officer told reporters.
The police said they have seized 20.39 kg of cannabis and 400 grams of hashish -- both estimated worth around Rs 25-30 lakh in the black market. Those arrested have been identified as gang leader Bintu Singh alias Kaalu, his brother Chintu, Jai Prakash, and Varsha. Jai Prakash and Varsha delivered the packages locally, according to the police.
Additional DCP Kumar said the gang procured "high quality" cannabis from Shillong and sold it at higher rates in Greater Noida in packets of 10 gm, 20 gm, and 50 gm.
"The cannabis they procured for Rs 40,000 per kg in Shillong was sold here for Rs 1.25 lakh to Rs 1.50 lakh," Mr Kumar added.
He said the arrest was made by officials of the local Beta 2 police station along with the SWAT team and the accused were held near the Newada roundabout.
Besides seizing the cannabis, the police claimed they had recovered 148 envelopes with the company's name written on them, three polythene bags, an electronic weighing scale, and seized four mobile phones.
They have also impounded two vehicles -- a sedan and a motorcycle -- belonging to the gang.
A case has been registered against the accused persons under the stringent Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and further legal proceedings are being carried out, the police added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)