Drug cartels in India use ex-US presidents' names to mask their identities

During the October 25 bust on a methamphetamine laboratory in Greater Noida run by the Mexican outfit Cartel De Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG).

John F Kennedy, Franklin D Roosevelt, Bill Clinton – a clutch of names more commonly associated with the White House have, over the past year, found themselves relegated to the relatively ignominious ranks of India’s drug-trading circles.

during the October 25 bust on a methamphetamine laboratory in Greater Noida run by the Mexican outfit Cartel De Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG). (HT PHOTO)

Operatives working with offshoots of Mexican drug cartels in India have started using aliases of former US presidents, American TV show characters, and some Bollywood actors to mask their real identities, officials aware of the probe by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has said.

“Mexican cartels run the drug operations from abroad. It is they who connect all the characters. Because drugs are sourced through courier/darknet and meetings are held over video calls on different apps, every person is given a fake name,” the officer added.

For instance, during the October 25 bust on a methamphetamine laboratory in Greater Noida run by the Mexican outfit Cartel De Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), officials came across the name Roosewelt (misspelt with a W).

The entire operation, officials said, is run using these aliases. Nobody involved in the network is aware of each other’s real names or identities, and all exchanges are made over encrypted messaging services. The operatives use these fake names while communicating in-person or through text messages.

“No one involved in the operations knows the real name of the other person,” said the officials.

On June 6, 2023, when NCB arrested a woman who was part of a Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) smuggling cartel, she was known by her associates only as Lady Windsor (borrowed from UK Royal Family’s surname).

Officials have so far found aliases such as Kennedy_John, Jimkerry (it is unclear whether the fake name was inspired by actor Jim Carrey or former US secretary of state John Kerry). They also came across a Clinton, JohnAbrahim007 and even Soulbadman (borrowed from Saul Goodman, a character from the Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul TV series).

In Breaking Bad, Saul Goodman is the legal counsel for the cancer-addled protagonist Walter White, who cooks methamphetamine and becomes a drug lord.

Between June and August 2023, NCB arrested ninepeople involved with a cartel and seized over 29,000 LSD stamps. In that case too, the Indian drug ring named their cartel Zambada, after fugitive Mexican drug runner Ismael Zambada Garcia.

Investigations revealed the gang sourced LSD from a darknet operator who went by the name Dr Seuss – the pen name of popular American author Theodor Seuss Geisel.

In 2024 alone, NCB has arrested at least four Mexicans nationals sent to India to oversee methamphetamine operations. NCB has been coordinating and holding joint meetings with the Drug Enforcement Administration of the United States to act on Indian cartels with links to Mexican cartels.

“The drug business today is all online. There is no physical meeting, so these cartel operators come up with such names. A second person arrested earlier this year in the case of manufacturing methamphetamine had taken up a fake Mexican name. He is from north India (Haryana) but was given the name David Lopez,” the official added.

The most recent proof of such alleged drug dealers using fake names and hiding it from everyone including their employees was evident last month when NCB arrested a Mexican national, who was sent by the Cartel De Jalisco Nueva Generacion.

“To all Indian nationals involved in the operations, he was Uncle Bob. His name was saved as Uncle Bob even in the phone of main accused Amit Singh, a Delhi-based businessman. In all their mails and other forms of communication, the Mexican was called Uncle Bob by Amit Singh. Amit Singh, too, had an alias. To the Mexican he was Ravi Gupta, and to the innocent security guard outside his factory in Greater Noida, he was Rahul. This is the level of secrecy they maintain,” a second officer added.