The Narcotics Control Bureau has busted two clandestine drug laboratories operating from a rented premises in Jahangirabad Kadarpur village in Greater Noida, seizing 379.74 kg of amphetamine-containing material, chemicals and laboratory equipment valued at about Rs 45 crore. Two people, including a Nigerian national, have been arrested in the operation.
The action was conducted under Operation Crystal Hunt following intelligence inputs, according to a statement issued by the NCB. The agency said the laboratories were being used to manufacture and process synthetic drugs. The seizure included 4.26 kg of crystalline material, 157.7 kg of semi-crystalline material and 217.78 kg of liquid amphetamine-containing substances.
The NCB also seized 10 kg of pseudoephedrine and chemicals including hydrochloric acid, acetone, toluene, sulphuric acid and potassium permanganate. The agency said these substances are used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. The scale of the seizure indicates that the premises were being used for more than simple storage, with equipment and chemical inputs found at the location.
The two arrested people have been identified as Destiny Abraham Dambiri, a Nigerian national, and Lallawamzuali, who is from Mizoram. The NCB said Dambiri entered India in January 2020 under the name Francis Kalokoh and identified himself as a citizen of Sierra Leone. His tourist visa was valid until December 2020, according to the agency’s account.
The NCB also said Lallawamzuali had previously been arrested in Goa in a case being investigated by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. In March, officials allegedly seized 313 grams of heroin-containing powder from her checked-in baggage at Dabolim airport, the agency said.
The operation brings the illicit manufacture of synthetic drugs into a Greater Noida residential and peri-urban setting, where rented premises and dispersed settlements can create enforcement challenges for agencies. The NCB’s statement, however, did not provide details about how long the laboratories had been operating, the intended distribution network or the identities of any wider syndicate members.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah congratulated the NCB for the action in a post on X. He described it as an example of intelligence-led enforcement and said it reflected the government’s commitment under the Nasha Mukt Bharat campaign to dismantling drug networks and eliminating trafficking groups.
The NCB has not announced further arrests or disclosed the next investigative steps in the case. The agency’s statement said the arrests and seizure followed the intelligence-led operation in Greater Noida.
