The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has busted a pan-India drug distribution network operating under the name “Team Kalki” through the darknet since January 2025. Two accused, identified by the agency as Anurag Thakur and his associate Vikas Rathi, have been arrested so far.
During the operation, NCB seized 2,338 LSD blotters; 160 MDMA (ecstasy) pills weighing over 77g; 73.61 g of charas (hashish); 3.64 g of amphetamine; and 3.6 kg of liquid MDMA from 13 nationally seized packages and two packages originating in the Netherlands and connected to the network.
The ‘Kalki Team’ was run by two accused who are “habitual offenders and were earlier arrested in cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act”, the agency said.
“Vikas Rathi was earlier lodged in Tihar Jail in connection with a charas trafficking case registered by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police, while Anurag Thakur was lodged in a methamphetamine trafficking case registered by the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police,” it said on Sunday (March 8, 2026).
Both were in Tihar jail around the same time, during which they got together and later ran a darknet drug network, the NCB said.
“Initially, the accused were active on the dark web forum ‘Dread’. Once established there, they also started their operations through the encrypted messaging app ‘Session’ for sales and order fulfillment,” Central reported.
Its initial survey showed that the network has a pan-India distribution footprint, NCB said. Under the scanner, some consignments are intercepted and seized by law enforcement agencies before delivery in Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala and Karnataka.
The network is suspected of having sent more than 1,000 shipments since January 2025. A cryptocurrency wallet associated with the operation was also revealed.
The accused obtained LSD and MDMA from international darknet sellers based in the Netherlands, Poland and Germany. Orders from customers across India were received through encrypted platforms.
“After receiving orders from customers, one of the accused would pass the details of the order to his associate who handled the packaging and dispatch of the narcotics shipments. The drugs were then sent to the customers in various parts of the country through courier and parcel services,” the agency said.
The investigation also revealed the alleged use of the “dead drop” delivery technique, where shipments of narcotic and psychotropic substances were placed in pre-determined locations instead of being delivered directly to customers.
Buyers were then notified of the location details, allowing them to pick up the shipments. This method was used only in limited areas in Delhi and mainly for customers with a history of several previous orders.
They mostly used courier/parcel services for pan-India delivery of the accused. A different courier or parcel service was used for each shipment to avoid detection, the NCB said.
The accused accepted cryptocurrency payments using non-hosted wallets, including Monero and USDT. The proceeds were routed through several intermediary wallets with a conversion fee of up to 10% to convert the funds to USDT, which were then stored in cold wallets. In some cases, KYC-compliant wallets were also used to channel proceeds into the formal banking system, the company said.
The National Central Bank found that in order to cover the transaction trail, temporary non-hosted wallets were dynamically created to receive USDT payments, and the received funds were immediately transferred through multiple layers of intermediary wallets to recipient wallets.
“The National Central Bank is continuing its investigation to identify other collaborators, trace financial transactions and uncover an international supply chain linked to the network,” he added.
In the past, the agency has conducted several major operations, including Operation Ketamelon in 2025 and Operation Zambada in 2023, against networks linked to international darknet markets.
Published – 8 March 2026 21:48 IST
