GUWAHATI: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has seized 227.7 kg of Captagon tablets and powder worth around ₹182 crore in a major operation against an international drug trafficking syndicate, officials said on Saturday. The seizure marks India’s first-ever recovery of Captagon, a psychotropic substance trafficked widely in parts of the Middle East.
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A Syrian national allegedly linked to the syndicate has been arrested in connection with the case. Officials said he had entered India on a tourist visa on November 15, 2024, and continued staying in the country illegally after his visa expired on January 12 this year.
The operation, codenamed “Operation RAGEPILL”, was launched after the NCB received intelligence inputs from a foreign drug law enforcement agency indicating that India was being used as a transit route for trafficking Captagon to Gulf countries.
On May 11, NCB officials raided a rented house in Neb Sarai in south Delhi and recovered around 31.5 kg of Captagon tablets concealed inside a commercial chapati-cutting machine. Preliminary investigation suggested that the consignment was intended to be exported to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
Further investigation led officials to a container stationed at the Container Facilitation Station (CFS) in Mundra, Gujarat, where another 196.2 kg of Captagon powder was recovered on May 14. The container had arrived from Syria and was declared as carrying sheep wool.
During a detailed search of the container, officials recovered three bags containing the psychotropic substance. Investigators suspect the consignment was meant for transshipment to Saudi Arabia and neighbouring Middle Eastern countries, where Captagon abuse has emerged as a major law enforcement and public health concern.
The NCB said Captagon primarily contains Fenetylline and Amphetamine, both classified as psychotropic substances under the NDPS Act.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah congratulated NCB officials for the operation and reiterated the government’s zero-tolerance policy against narcotics trafficking.
In a post on X, Shah described the seizure as India’s first-ever crackdown involving Captagon and said authorities would act against every attempt to use Indian territory as a transit route for drug trafficking. He also referred to Captagon as the “so-called Jihadi Drug”.
Officials said the seizure exposed attempts by international drug syndicates to use India as a transit hub for trafficking narcotics through commercial cargo and container routes. The agency said the operation highlighted the role of international intelligence-sharing and coordinated enforcement action in dismantling transnational drug networks.
The NCB also linked the case to a recent seizure of 349 kg of cocaine in Mumbai that had arrived in a container from Ecuador, pointing to an increasing trend of global syndicates using maritime trade routes for narcotics smuggling.
A detailed investigation has been launched to trace the procurement source, hawala links, logistics chain, international receivers and other members of the trafficking network.
