Crime Branch Dismantles Key Links In Interstate Narcotics Supply Chain

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Drug trafficking routes from Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan to Bhopal have come under the police scanner with the Crime Branch dismantling key links in the interstate supply chain.

Investigations revealed that narcotics were routed through border districts before being split into smaller consignments and supplied to the city through internal routes instead of main highways.

Between 2022 and 2026 (till May), the Crime Branch registered 159 cases under the NDPS Act and arrested 313 suspects. Investigators found that ganja was largely sourced from Odisha and Chhattisgarh, while charas arrived through networks operating from Rajasthan and Himachal.

MD (mephedrone) and other synthetic drugs were supplied from Maharashtra. Investigations also exposed links between interstate traffickers and local distributors.

In 2025, the Crime Branch shifted its focus to dismantling supply networks rather than merely intercepting consignments.

While large charas seizures declined, traffickers started smuggling smaller quantities of high-value synthetic drugs such as MD, LSD and smack. During the year, 49 cases were registered and 98 suspects were arrested.

The crackdown has continued in 2026, with 27 cases registered and 59 suspects arrested so far. Police have seized ganja, charas, MD, smack and doda chura.

Investigators say traffickers are increasingly using cars, auto-rickshaws and two-wheelers instead of trucks to move smaller consignments and avoid detection.

Additional DCP (Crime Branch) Shailendra Singh Chauhan said coordination with police in border districts and central agencies in other states had been strengthened.

Enhanced intelligence gathering, technical surveillance and raids have led to the arrest of several interstate traffickers.

He said the focus will remain on eliminating the narcotics supply chain from its source to street-level distribution.

Big action in 2024

The biggest crackdown came in 2024, when the Crime Branch registered 51 cases and arrested 95 suspects.

Seizures included 440.732 kg of ganja, 44.58 kg of charas, 92.16 g of MD, 132 bottles of Corex cough syrup, Nitravet tablets and injectable narcotics, indicating the large volume of drugs entering the city.