Mango, stick and flower used as codes for drugs, say Hyderabad cops as they bust gang; Mumbai link being probed

A nationwide drug trafficking network that allegedly used coded words like Mango Stick and Flower to discreetly operate a ganja delivery racket across India through Speed Post and courier services Hyderabad Police said on ThusdayThe Hyderabad Narcotics Enforcement Wing HNEW said that it has dismantled a major interstate drug trafficking syndicate that allegedly used Indias postal network to deliver ganja to customers across the countryPolice arrested the alleged mastermind Satyam Misra a resident of Giridih district in Jharkhand while four other accused remain abscondingAccording to investigators the gang supplied cannabis to customers in nearly 21 states including Telangana Maharashtra Tamil Nadu Delhi and KarnatakaPolice said the syndicate concealed ganja inside parcels sent through Speed Post from the Isri Bazar and Phusro Bazar post offices in JharkhandTo avoid suspicion the accused allegedly declared the parcels as containing medicines while booking themThe gang is also accused of using WhatsApp and other social media platforms to receive orders coordinate deliveries and accept digital paymentsLargescale operation uncoveredInvestigators said the syndicate processed around 80 to 100 customer orders every day dispatching 8 to 10 Speed Post parcels dailyEach parcel reportedly contained between 50 grams and 250 grams of ganja sold for between Rs 1500 and Rs 8000Police estimate the gang earned around Rs 1 lakh per day generating a monthly income of Rs 30 lakh to Rs 35 lakh and an annual turnover of Rs 4 crore to Rs 5 croreMumbai network under investigationApart from postal deliveries police said the syndicate had a wellestablished distribution network in Mumbai with around a thousand regular customersBulk quantities of ganja were allegedly transported by train from Jharkhand to Mumbai where they were stored by local associates before being repackaged into small sachets for deliveryAccording to investigators the gang used code words such as Mango Stick and Flower to refer to different quantities of cannabis during online conversationsThe investigation began after HNEW intercepted a ganja parcel sent to a customer in Hyderabad through Speed PostQuestioning of the recipient led investigators to the wider network Another parcel was subsequently traced and two Hyderabadbased buyers were arrestedPolice said 2 kg of ganja was seized during the investigationSecurity loophole identifiedDuring the probe investigators found that the drug parcels had travelled through trains and commercial flights without being scannedPolice described this as a serious security concern and said they would write to the relevant central authorities urging them to introduce stricter screening and scanning procedures for postal parcels transported across the countryPolice alleged that the gang laundered drug proceeds through multiple bank accounts and UPI IDs including an account belonging to the arrested accuseds motherThe illegal earnings were allegedly used to purchase gold jewellery and luxury vehiclesThe investigation is continuing and efforts are underway to arrest the remaining accused and identify other members of the trafficking networkHyderabad Police have also directed courier agencies across the city to ensure that all parcels are scanned before dispatch and delivery to prevent the misuse of courier services for drug trafficking