Five held for supplying drugs to students at Noida, Greater Noida universities

The arrests came over a month after nine others including four students of the private university were held over same charges

Five people, including a student of a reputed university in Noida, were arrested on Saturday for allegedly supplying drugs at varsity hostels, colleges, and paying guest accommodation across Noida and Greater Noida, said police officials, adding drugs worth at least ₹20 lakh was also seized.

The suspects have been identified as Sagar, Nishant, Sachin Kumar, Harsh Jha (all residents of Noida) and Chetan Adalka, a resident of Delhi and hotel management student at a private university, a senior police officer said. (PTI)

The arrests, part of an ongoing police crackdown against drug-trafficking, came over a month after nine others including four students of the private university were held over same charges, they said.

The suspects have been identified as Sagar, Nishant, Sachin Kumar, Harsh Jha (all residents of Noida) and Chetan Adalka, a resident of Delhi and hotel management student at a private university, a senior police officer said.

“The gang was butsed based on investigation into the previously arrested gang,” said deputy commissioner of police (Noida) Harish Chander, adding: “The gang would supply narcotics including ‘Shillong ganja’, a drug considered to be of superior quality, to university students in the guise of parcels from e-commerce sites.”

The gang operated out of a rented office in Barola village in Sector 49, Noida, where they stored the drugs and made deliveries through a motorcycle registered with a bike-taxi service, the officer added.

Shillong ganja alone sells for ₹90,000/kg, said officials.

Assistant commissioner of police (Noida-1), Rajneesh Verma said that the gang is led by suspect Sachin Kumar, who sourced initial supply from a dealer named Chintu in Madhya Pradesh.

Sagar, a university graduate, kept in touch with college students through social media chatting apps and got orders. The drugs were then packed like e-commerce parcels and delivered to the buyers by Sagar and Nishant on the two-wheelers, said the officer.

“Close inspection has revealed that the packaging is fake. Police have traced where it has been bought from and soon those culprits will be nabbed as well,” said Verma.

The suspects have been booked under relevant sections of the Narcotic-Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and sent to judicial custody, he added.

When reached out, the private university officials refused to comment on the development.