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News: The Narcotics Control Bureau has achieved a major breakthrough by dismantling India’s most prolific darknet drug syndicate under its Operation Melon.
About Operation MELON
- It is an operation by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in 2025 that dismantled “Ketamelon,” India’s most sophisticated darknet drug syndicate.
- This high-impact operation was led by the NCB Cochin zonal unit.
- Ketamelon: It had established a wide network for shipping Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) to major cities, including Bengaluru, Chennai, Bhopal, Patna, and Delhi, as well as in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
- ‘Ketamelon’ was India’s only ‘Level 4’ darknet vendor operating actively over the past two years.
- LCD: Also known as acid, blots, and stamp, LSD is a hallucinogenic drug.
- It is odourless, colourless, and tasteless, and can be painted onto small paper pieces that users lick or swallow.
- Zambada: In 2023, the NCB had busted the then biggest darknet based LSD cartel named ‘Zambada’.
- It was the only cartel in the country with 5-star rating operating from Delhi National Capital Region.
- Ratings: The cartels on the darknet are rated on the scale of 1 to 5 levels based on the potency of the drug sold, and their “customer service”.
