Nepal-Delhi charas trail: How social media, bike taxis and autorickshaws helped move drugs

From the Nepal border to a bulk storage point in Wazirabad and then into the hands of local distributors, an international charas network had built a supply chain designed to keep the drugs moving while keeping those behind it out of sight.

Delhi Police’s South District police dismantled part of the network, arresting four Nepalese nationals and recovering 106.250 kg of high-quality charas estimated to be worth around ₹109 crore in an operation that stretched nearly 1.5 months.

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The operation began with a relatively small recovery of 8.598 kg at a residence in Kotla Mubarakpur on June 29 this year, leading to the arrest of Bharat Thapa, 32, Govind Budha, 32, and Jyoti Pun Magar, 50. Interrogation, technical surveillance, financial analysis and local intelligence eventually led the police to Roshni Magar, 32, who was operating a massive storage and distribution unit in Wazirabad.

A raid on the premises on August 12 led to the recovery of 97.652 kg of high-quality charas packed in 13 plastic bags. A mixing machine and packing material were also recovered.

A pictorial representation of how the international network operated. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Investigators revealed that the network sourced charas through suppliers in Nepal, including the Kakri area of Rukum, and moved it towards Delhi through the Sonauli border. The syndicate relied on road transportation to move the consignments to evade checks and reduce the chances of detection.

Once the contraband reached Delhi, they were stored at various locations, packed into smaller packets based on the demand before being distributed further. Orders were coordinated through social media platforms including Telegram, with payments made both in cash and through digital banking channels. After transactions, the accused deleted digital communications to conceal their activities.

The drugs were then moved through local transport, including autorickshaws and bike taxis, to distributors and customers. Police said the network specifically targeted areas with a high concentration of younger people and demand centres such as Wazirabad and Majnu Ka Tila, with suspected supplies to distributors and customers linked to pubs, bars and hotels in the vicinity.

According to DCP (South District) Anant Mittal, the syndicate has been in operation in Delhi for the past four to five years. Roshni had previously been part of the distribution network involving Thapa, Budha and Jyoti Pun Magar. After the three were arrested in June, she left India and returned to Nepal. Investigators said she recently came back to India believing that the situation had settled and resumed her operations.

The investigation has also opened up the Nepal end of the network. Binmaya, a Nepalese national, has emerged as an alleged key source who arranged transportation of charas from the Sonauli border towards Delhi. Another Nepalese national, Hari, has also emerged as an alleged supplier. Their exact roles, whereabouts and financial links are being established.

Police are now examining the financial trail to determine how money moved through the network and identify other people who may have financed, supplied, transported or distributed the drugs