New Delhi, June 25: In a major crackdown on narcotics trafficking under the Government of India’s flagship Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, the Anti-Auto Theft Squad (AATS) of the South-East District Police has busted an interstate ganja smuggling network and seized 183 kilograms of contraband valued at around Rs 1.5 crore in the illegal market.

The operation led to the arrest of three key members of the syndicate, including the alleged mastermind and owner of the truck used to transport the narcotics. According to Delhi Police, the contraband was ingeniously concealed inside a specially fabricated secret compartment built above the driver’s cabin of a truck container.

Police said the seizure has dealt a significant blow to an interstate trafficking network operating across Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi-NCR.

According to officials, the breakthrough came after the AATS received specific Intelligence on June 13, indicating that a truck container bearing registration number UP44AT2502 was carrying a large consignment of ganja from Uttar Pradesh towards Delhi via the Bombay Expressway during the intervening night of June 13 and 14.

The information was verified by SI Anil Kumar and shared with Inspector Ajay Dalal, In-Charge of AATS, who subsequently informed ACP Kalkaji V.K.P.S. Yadav. Acting on the tip-off, a special raiding team was constituted to intercept the vehicle and take action under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

The team, comprising SI Anil Kumar, SI Jitender Raghuvanshi, HC Sher Singh, HC Krishan, HC Zuber Khan, Constable Lakpa Tenzing Sherpa, Constable Akshay, Constable Shivam and Constable Hemen Deka, was deployed near Kalindi Kunj Metro Station under the leadership of Inspector Dalal and the supervision of ACP Yadav.

At around 1:50 A.M. on June 14, the suspected truck was spotted moving towards Delhi and was intercepted near the Indian Oil LPG Plant on the Kalindi Kunj-Madanpur Khadar Road.

Police identified the occupants of the vehicle as Subodh Kumar Mishra, the driver, and Brij Kishore Tiwari, his associate and helper. During a detailed search conducted in the presence of senior officers and crime team officials, investigators discovered a specially designed hidden cabin above the driver’s compartment. The concealed section could only be accessed through a secret hatch.

Inside the compartment, police recovered 38 packets wrapped in brown adhesive tape. Upon examination, the packets were found to contain ganja. A total of 183 kilograms of the contraband was seized.

Following the recovery, a case was registered under FIR No. 387/2026 under relevant Sections of the NDPS Act, and further investigation was assigned to SI Jitender of AATS, South-East District.

During interrogation, the arrested accused allegedly revealed that they were involved in transporting commercial quantities of ganja from suppliers based in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh to buyers in Delhi-NCR and nearby regions.

The investigation further revealed that the operation was allegedly being coordinated by Shriram, the owner of the truck and the alleged kingpin of the syndicate. Police said he was responsible for arranging the procurement, transportation and delivery of narcotics through a well-organised interstate network.

Based on disclosures made by the accused and technical surveillance, police traced and arrested Shriram from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. Investigators are now working to identify the source suppliers, financiers and other members linked to the trafficking network.

The three arrested accused have been identified as Subodh Kumar Mishra (40), a resident of Bettiah in Bihar’s West Champaran district; Brij Kishore Tiwari (36), also a resident of Bettiah; and Shriram, a resident of Makdoompur village in the Sultanpur-Ayodhya region of Uttar Pradesh.

Police said Shriram has previously been involved in three NDPS cases related to commercial quantities of narcotics.

Apart from the 183 kg of ganja, the truck container used to transport the contraband has also been seized.

New Delhi, June 24: A Delhi court on Wednesday extended till July 8 the judicial custody of two accused in the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The accused P.V. Kulkarni and Shivaraj Motegaonkar were produced before the Rouse Avenue Court on the expiry of their earlier 14-day judicial custody.

The court directed that both accused remain in judicial custody till July 8.

According to the CBI, Kulkarni, a retired Chemistry professor from Maharashtra’s Latur, was the mastermind behind the alleged paper leak network.

The probe agency has claimed that he was associated with the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) question paper-setting process for several years and misused his access to leak examination content to selected candidates through special coaching sessions conducted in Pune.

Motegaonkar, the director of Latur-based RCC Coaching Institute, is alleged to have played a key role in the dissemination of the leaked paper.

Investigators claim that examination questions and their answers reached him nearly 10 days before the conduct of the NEET-UG 2026 examination.

According to the CBI, Motegaonkar allegedly procured the leaked paper through Kulkarni and co-accused Manisha Mandhare, who is suspected to have played a crucial role in the Biology paper leak.

The CBI had earlier arrested Motegaonkar, stating that he owned the RCC Coaching Institute, which operates nine branches with its main centre in Latur and prepares students for the NEET-UG examination.

The probe agency said searches conducted at the institute and Motegaonkar’s residence led to the recovery of a Chemistry question bank containing questions identical to those that appeared in the now-cancelled NEET-UG 2026 examination held on May 3.

The CBI registered the case on May 12 based on a written complaint received from the Department of Higher Education under the Union Ministry of Education. Following registration of the FIR, special teams were constituted, and searches were carried out at multiple locations across the country.

Earlier this month, the Rouse Avenue Court extended till June 29 the judicial custody of 10 other accused in the case, including Yash Yadav, Mangilal Biwal, Dinesh Biwal, Vikas Biwal, Dhananjay Lokhande, Tejas Harshad Shah, Shubham Khairnar, Manisha Waghmare, Manisha Sanjay Havaldar and Dr Manoj Shirure.

The court had also permitted the CBI to interrogate certain accused inside jail as part of its continuing investigation. The CBI has so far arrested 13 accused in connection with the alleged network involved in procuring and circulating NEET-UG question papers before the examination.

Meanwhile, the National Testing Agency successfully conducted the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination on June 21 after the original examination was cancelled amid concerns over irregularities.

More than 20 lakh medical aspirants appeared at 5,440 examination centres across India and 14 centres abroad. Authorities deployed nearly 7 lakh personnel, including examination staff, police officers, observers and administrative officials, to ensure the smooth conduct of the re-test.

Over 95,000 examination rooms were monitored through more than 1.38 lakh CCTV cameras, while over 51,000 signal jammers were installed to prevent electronic malpractice.

The re-examination was conducted under extensive security measures, including Aadhaar-based biometric verification, facial authentication, two-layer frisking, real-time surveillance and command-and-control centre monitoring, aimed at ensuring transparency and preserving the integrity of one of the country’s largest entrance examinations.

Mumbai, June 24: Mumbai Customs on Wednesday arrested a 28-year-old man for allegedly smuggling hydroponic weed worth Rs 2.05 crore into the country through Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA).

According to Mumbai Customs, officials intercepted a passenger identified as A.D. Rajani, a resident of Jamnagar, Gujarat, based on specific suspicion that he might be carrying contraband items after arriving at CSMIA from Bangkok.

Following the interception, a detailed search of the passenger’s baggage was conducted. During the examination, officials found his trolley bag stuffed with 14 packets. Upon opening the packets, they were found to contain the fruiting and flowering tops of a plant suspected to be hydroponic weed (cannabis).

Customs officials recovered a total net weight of 5,869 grams of hydroponic weed, with an estimated value of approximately Rs 2.05 crore in the illicit market. Further investigation into the case is underway.

The latest seizure comes amid a series of recent crackdowns on drug smuggling through Indian airports.

On June 22, Customs officials at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in New Delhi seized hydroponic weed worth around Rs 4.80 crore from an Indian passenger arriving from Bangkok. The passenger had arrived on Air India flight AI 2335 on June 21 and was intercepted after crossing the Green Channel based on profiling. A detailed examination of his baggage led to the recovery of approximately 13.84 kg of hydroponic weed.

Earlier this month, on June 12, the Customs Department arrested a 28-year-old woman at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for allegedly attempting to smuggle more than 11 kg of hydroponic weed into the country. The seized contraband was estimated to be worth Rs 11.82 crore in the international market.

Hydroponic weed is a high-potency form of cannabis cultivated using water-based nutrient solutions instead of soil. Due to its higher concentration of psychoactive compounds and superior quality, it often commands a significantly higher price in the illegal drug market.