Jaipur:
It was called Operation Vishgrahan, or “sniffing out the poison.” A codename inspired by modern-day drugs that are often sniffed or inhaled as a method of consumption. It became the Rajasthan Police Anti-Narcotics Task Force’s most dramatic drug bust, one that involved an exchange of fire between police and smugglers, and led to the arrest of six hardened criminals in a network spanning several states.
But how did the police reach a remote village along the Jodhpur-Jaisalmer highway, in the fields of Balesar, only to uncover a full-fledged factory manufacturing MD drugs worth crores in an isolated location?
Police sources say the gang caught in Balesar were seasoned smugglers with prior criminal records. Hapu Ram, the kingpin, had been jailed twice between 2015 and 2018 in Jodhpur, and again in 2019 and 2024 in Udaipur. He had always been on the police radar.
“Once a criminal learns how to make money through crime, he is rarely satisfied with honest earnings. That is why drug traffickers with criminal backgrounds remain on our radar, even after they leave jail,” IG ANTF Vikas Kumar said.
According to Vikas Kumar, this is precisely why Hapu Ram was kept under continuous surveillance. The 28-year-old from Barmer began his criminal career trafficking doda chura, a variant of poppy straw, a by-product of opium harvesting. Initially part of a larger network, Hapu Ram eventually branched out after serving jail time. He built his own syndicate, handpicked his team, many of them former associates, and moved into a more lucrative and dangerous drug: MD.
About the Author
