Cops find ketamine hidden in toothpaste tubes, one held

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police have arrested a man who, in a unique modus operandi, used tubes of toothpastes for hiding and trafficking psychotropic drug ketamine.

Inter-border Gangs Investigation Squad, and Crime Branch, Dwarka were tipped-off that Satender Kumar Yadav alias Rakesh, a member of an international illegal drugs syndicate, would come near Panchkuyian Road Mod, Nehru Bazar in Paharganj to supply ketamine abroad through a courier.

Subsequently, a Crime Branch team laid a trap near his expected arrival spot and Yadav was successfully apprehended.

"A total of thirty five 200 g tubes of branded toothpaste kept in a carton were recovered from his possession. Out of these, one kilogram of ketamine, a psychotropic substance, was recovered from seven tubes. A case under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act has been registered and the accused has been arrested," said DCP (Crime) Bhishm Singh.

Yadav, a resident of Bihar, was residing in a rented house in Paharganj and running a cosmetic shop in the area. Prior to that, he had worked as an assistant at his cousin Nagender's chemist shop in Paharganj, where foreign customers often used to purchase ketamine.

Nagender would prepare ketamine powder from ketamine injections and supply it to foreign countries. In 2012, Nagender was arrested by police and sent to jail. Since then, Yadav took over the business.