Delhi police seize 22 kg ganja, ₹2.51 lakh cash; 3 arrested in Karawal Nagar crackdown
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
Delhi Police's Karawal Nagar Police Station team arrested three accused and seized 22.040 kg of ganja, 450 quarter bottles of illicit liquor, 18 beer cans, and ₹2,51,000 in cash in a crackdown on narcotic and illicit liquor trade in Shiv Vihar and Prem Vihar areas of Delhi, officials said on Saturday, 20 June. The operation, spanning two locations, is one of the larger single-night drug and liquor seizures recorded by the station this year.
How the Operation Unfolded
On the intervening night of 18 and 19 June, Head Constable Tarun of Karawal Nagar Police Station spotted two individuals — a man and a woman — standing outside a house in Shiv Vihar with cardboard boxes and a bag containing a green leafy substance. Initial verification revealed 122 quarter bottles of Night Blue Whisky, 278 quarter bottles of Santra Desi Sharab, 22 quarter bottles of White and Blue Whisky, 24 quarter bottles of Officers Choice Whisky, and 18 beer cans — all labelled 'For Sale in Haryana and Delhi Only' — along with 320 gm of ganja.
Third Accused and the Larger Cache
During questioning, the arrested duo — Ajay, 24, and a woman in her thirties, both residents of Karawal Nagar — disclosed that a significantly larger quantity of ganja was concealed at the residence of a third accused, identified as Om, in Prem Vihar. A dedicated team led by Inspector Sanjay Singh, Station House Officer of Karawal Nagar Police Station, and operating under the supervision of Yatin Sharma, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Khajuri Khas, swiftly moved to the location. Notices under Section 50 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act were served before the search, as required by law. The search yielded 21.720 kg of ganja from Om's premises.
Cash Recovered as Suspected Proceeds
A further search of Ajay's and the female accused's residence led to the recovery of ₹2,51,000 in cash, which police suspect to be proceeds from the sale of contraband. An FIR has been registered under Section 33 of the Delhi Excise Act and Sections 20 and 29 of the NDPS Act at Karawal Nagar Police Station.
Investigation Continues
Authorities are now working to map the source and distribution network behind the contraband supply. The scale of the seizure — particularly the 21.720 kg bulk cache at a single residential address — suggests the accused may have been operating as mid-level distributors rather than street-level vendors. Further arrests in the network have not been ruled out, according to officials.