Earlier in 2023, NCB busted the then biggest darknet based LSD cartel named “Zambada”, seizing 29,013 blots of LSD, 472 grams of MDMA & Rs.51.38 Lakh cash and arrested 14 persons out of which main kingpins are under judicial custody. Seventeen people were arrested, including kingpins, traffickers, white-collar criminals, two Afghan heroin processing experts and members of the alleged Jaggu Bhagwan Puria gang. The seizure in the case included about 34.5 kg of heroin, 5.5 kg morphine, 0.6 kg opium, 23.6 kg narcotics powder, acetic anhydride, bullets and magazines.
They add new batches of stolen data every other week, and there’s even a bidding system where buyers can place offers on new data batches as soon as they become available. You can even find things such as BIN checkers and PayPal cookie converters. Another reason the Russian Market is so popular is that it’s pretty inexpensive compared to other dark web marketplaces. Established in 2020, Awazon Market has quickly become one of the most famous darknet marketplaces. The market claims to provide secure and anonymous commerce services. You can find a lot of goods and services packed with stealth high-level encryption, no JavaScript, and anti-DDoS protection.
India’s Biggest Darknet Drug Bust: Know What LSD And Ketamine Really Do To Your Brain And Body
It had established a widespread network, shipping LSD to major cities across India, with an estimated 600 shipments delivered in 14 months. The agency’s efforts to disrupt the supply chain of synthetic drugs and cryptocurrency transactions will continue to be a priority in the pursuit of a ‘Drug-Free India’ as envisioned by the central government. The NCB’s financial investigation has also identified Hawala network money payment channels and a group of companies involved in it. The identified assets include 45 properties, many front businesses, including liquor brands, real estate, pubs and restaurants and 190 bank accounts. “The modus operandi of the drug traffickers included the use of Darknet, cryptocurrency, digital media, UPIs and fake KYC documents as well as post and courier services,” the sources said.
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In September 2022, the Hyderabad police had arrested eight people, following which the name of “Zambada” cartel had come up. The man running the operations in India was in close contact with a darknet operator named Dr. Seuss aka DS, TS (Tribe Seuss) and Gamma Goblin, who is allegedly the largest source of LSD across the globe. “It is the largest cartel of LSD based on volume of business and supply chain.
The Unmasking Of “Ketamelon”: How A Kerala Engineer Became India’s Top Darknet Drug Kingpin
But if you still decide to access these websites, for education or research purposes, make sure you stay cautious. Monero, the cryptocurrency of choice for this syndicate, boasts robust privacy features that obscure the sender, recipient, and amount of each transaction. These attributes make Monero a favored currency among those wishing to operate away from the prying eyes of authorities. This came a day after Punjab Police seized a huge amount of drugs in a major operation to crackdown on cross-border narcotics smuggling. The anti-drug body also seized USDT cryptocurrency worth over Rs 1 crore. This seizure exemplifies NCB’s commitment to successfully dismantle the supply of synthetic drugs facilitated via the Darknet and cryptocurrency channels to accomplish the vision of DRUG FREE INDIA.
The Crackdown: Operation MELON
In recent years, NCB officials have observed that each consignment of LSD — a psychedelic drug — bears the imprint (name or symbol) of the main supplier. A key addition to this strategy is “Grapnel”, an AI-based software tool designed to track activities on the dark web in real time. Grapnel scans and indexes hidden websites and forums, flagging potential threats such as drug sales, child exploitation content, counterfeit currency, and hacking services. In a case that has shocked authorities and digital security experts alike, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has uncovered India’s largest dark web drug syndicate, run by a 29-year-old man from Kerala. The syndicate, which went by the name “Ketamelon”, used the dark web to sell drugs like LSD and Ketamine across the country. The agency said 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”.
This assistance not only allowed for the identification of suspects, but also demonstrated how law enforcement and industry can work together to dismantle tech-enabled criminal activities. The operation unmasked Edison Babu, a former engineer from Kerala, as the mastermind behind a sprawling online drug empire disguised as an e-commerce business. Investigations revealed that “Ketamelon” was India’s only Level 4 darknet vendor—a top-tier status in India—operating actively over the past two years. The name derives from the vendor’s early involvement in Ketamine smuggling.
The Muvattupuzha native is suspected to be the kingpin of this sophisticated trafficking network. Investigations are on to identify the end-users and other operatives,” an NCB officer said. The arrest in Kerala sheds light on the scale of operations that can be conducted under the radar with cryptocurrencies. Over two years, the engineer known under the pseudonym “Ketamelon” allegedly managed to dispatch more than 600 consignments of narcotics across major Indian cities, using sophisticated methods to cover his tracks. The NCB’s operation against ‘Ketamelon’ is a significant step in the fight against darknet-based drug trafficking.
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Ketamelon, according to NCB officials, was the country’s only Level-4 darknet vendor—a top-tier status in India—operating actively over the past two years on the darknet. The darknet-enabled drugs supply platform had “established” a “widespread” network shipping LSD to cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Bhopal, Patna, and Delhi apart from some cities in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, it said. The Ketamelon case has highlighted both the opportunities and dangers of modern technology. While digital anonymity has opened new doors for crime, it has also forced law enforcement agencies to adopt cutting-edge methods to stay ahead.
- Classic darknet markets sell diverse illegal goods; data stores focus on leaked or stolen data like credentials, databases, and ID records.
- The NCB then zeroed in on the “Zambada” cartel whose conduits were operating from Delhi and nearby areas.
- In September 2022, the Hyderabad police had arrested eight people, following which the name of “Zambada” cartel had come up.
- Most people start by using the Tor Browser, which hides your IP address.
- It is trafficked by painting it on blots, half the size of a stamp paper, and is consumed by licking or swallowing.
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Breaking down the figures, the NCB reported three cases in 2020, 49 in 2021, eight in 2022, 21 in 2023, and 11 cases up until April 2024. However, the data does not specify the exact number of cases that were exclusively related to the darknet or cryptocurrency. LSD is an odourless, colourless and tasteless drug and the person consuming it can lose the sense of time, distance and space, the agency said. The NCB’s investigation began after intercepting 280 LSD blots from three postal parcels in Cochin on June 28, 2025. Taking the lead forward, it was investigated that the parcels were booked by a suspect, leading to a search of his residence on June 29. In Ludhiana, the NCB has also busted a “basket” case having international drug racket links in Dubai, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
NCB officials confirmed that ‘Ketamelon’ was India’s only Level 4 darknet vendor — a top-tier status in India — operating actively over the past two years. According to a senior NCB officer, the agency, after weeks of intelligence gathering, intercepted three postal parcels in Cochin on June 28, containing 280 LSD blots. Acting swiftly, they raided the suspect’s residence on June 29, uncovering a further 847 LSD blots, Ketamine and a trove of digital evidence. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the nodal agency on drug law enforcement matters, booked three of such dark net and crypto-related cases in 2020, 49 in 2021, eight in 2022, 21 in 2023 and 11 until April 2024.
In the present case, Gupta said that once the orders were received on darknet, the LSD blots were sent to buyers through couriers. Probe so far has revealed that the accused had sold the LSD blots to buyers in Bengaluru, Chennai, Bhopal, Patna, Delhi, as well as regions in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. For society at large, the case is a reminder of the unpredictable intersections between technology and criminality, and the need for ongoing vigilance—at the institutional and individual levels alike. Perhaps most shocking to the community was the revelation that Edison Babu had maintained an utterly normal family life. Neighbors described him as “bookish” and “hardworking,” and none had any inkling of his secret criminal career.
What Is Dark Web Drug Trafficking And How Is Kerala Police Responding After The Ketamelon Bust?
BidenCash is another latest marketplace that started in 2022, and is now home to sensitive financial data transactions. This is where cybercriminals go to buy and sell things like stolen credit card numbers, personally identifiable information (PII), and even SSH login details. One thing that distinguishes BidenCash on the dark web, however, is how it markets itself. Foreign vendors used this rating for authentication and supply, and India-based web platform Dark Net Market to sell or buy drugs and to locate suppliers and buyers, said NCB.
Buyers choose from a range of illegal products, pay using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, and have items discreetly shipped to their homes via courier services. Over the years, several large drug markets have operated on the dark web, but authorities around the world have struggled to shut them down completely. In 2023, the agency dismantled “Zambada,” then considered the largest LSD cartel in India, seizing over 29,000 LSD blots, 472 grams of MDMA, ₹51.38 lakh in cash, and arresting 14 individuals.
This underscores a critical shift in the profile of India’s new-generation cyber criminals—educated, technically skilled individuals who blend seamlessly into mainstream society. Drugs were primarily sourced from UK-based vendor Gunga Din, a known reshipper of the globally infamous Dr Seuss (also known as DS or Tribe Seuss) which is believed to be the largest LSD source in the world, the NCB said. The name of this particular syndicate is derived from the vendor’s early involvement in Ketamine smuggling, as per the agency. As dark web crimes grow in scale and complexity, experts warn that India needs to invest more in digital forensics, inter-agency coordination, and public awareness campaigns to keep the internet safe.
