Inter-state drug ring busted as TN cops arrest 2 in Haryana

MADURAI: Tamil Nadu Police have busted an inter-State drug trafficking network and arrested two alleged key smugglers from Ambala in Haryana. Police said the network supplied Tapentadol tablets through postal and private courier services and is suspected to have links in 19 states and union territories, including Tamil Nadu.

South Zone Inspector General of Police Vijayendra Bidari said a special police team arrested Mahender Singh Bisht (48), a college dropout and a key coordinator in the dispatch of the consignments who operated from a computer spare parts shop in Ambala Cantonment in Haryana, and Sunil Kumar (43), based in Jammu, who facilitated the supply of the tablets to Tamil Nadu. Both were arrested in Ambala on November 2.

Sunil Kumar is a BSc Chemistry graduate who runs a coaching centre in Jammu and Kashmir for students preparing for competitive examinations. “They conducted the entire operation through WhatsApp. We have seized several mobile SIM cards from them,” said the IG.

The investigation revealed that the accused had used fictitious identities, including Aatish Bhardwaj, Azeez Bharadwaj and Ashish Bharadwaj, along with false sender addresses, to conceal their identities and evade detection while dispatching the consignments.

Based on intelligence inputs about drug trafficking through an inter-state courier network, Bidari initiated Operation Deep Source in July 2026 to dismantle the entire network.

“We have sensitised postal authorities and courier agencies to help identify suspicious consignments originating from outside the State,” said the IG.

The investigation gained momentum after a suspicious postal parcel was seized at Kandamanur in Theni on August 18. Subsequent seizures in Dindigul and Madurai revealed a common pattern, with the consignments consistently traced to Ambala Cantonment.

“An investigation of customer accounts at Ambala Cantonment revealed that 588 suspicious parcels had been booked over the past year to 19 states and union territories, of which 11 appeared to have been destined for Tamil Nadu, indicating a much wider inter-state distribution network,” said Bidari.

Seven criminal cases have been registered in Madurai, Dindigul and Theni districts over the last three months following the interception of suspicious consignments containing Tapentadol tablets, including those marketed under the brand name Tydol. Police have so far seized 4,400 tablets and arrested 18 others in these cases.

After obtaining a transit warrant from the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Ambala, the team brought the two accused to Tamil Nadu. They were subsequently remanded in judicial custody by the Judicial Magistrate Court, Vadipatti, in Madurai district. “We will soon seek their police custody,” said the IG.