How an apple trader in Shimla built a drug empire: Order on WhatsApp, no contact between delivery person, receiver

The orders for the drug were generated through WhatsApp, supplies were initiated and delivery made. But the delivery person and the final receiver never saw each other. In fact, people in the demand and supply chains operated like unrelated units.

Shahi Mahatma (Shashi Negi), an apple trader in the upper Shimla region, ran a interstate 'Chitta' (adulterated heroin) racket for five-six years, avoiding enforcement agencies by ensuring the dots are so varied they could not be connected to reach him.

Shahi Mahatma (Shashi Negi) was the only common link between the demand and supply chain of 'chitta'.

But he ran out of luck on September 20, a day after the police made this year's biggest catch of drugs in Shimla -- 465 grams of 'chitta' from Kharapathar.

"Links of the accused Mudasir Ahmed Mochi, a resident of Bhatpura village in Kupwara district in Jammu and Kashmir (who was arrested on September 19) were established with Shahi Mahatma alias Shashi Negi and the kingpin was arrested," said SP Shimla Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi.

Gandhi said Shahi Mahatma and his 40 associates were supplying drugs in Rohru, Jubbal-Kotkhai and Theog areas of Upper Shimla under the garb of apple business, and he had links with Nigerian drug gangs in New Delhi and other gangs in Haryana.

He has links with people in Kashmir as well, said SP Gandhi.

Explaining Shahi Mahatma gang's modus operandi, Gandhi said he made sure the drug changes four hands before being delivered. He had hired different sets of unrelated people for bringing demand, supplying drugs and receiving payments.

He himself never used to come in direct contact with any of the partners, Gandhi said.

The demand for drugs was generated in WhatsApp groups after verification of the drug user, the demand was sent to Shashi Negi who had another team to supply the drugs.

At the time of final handover too, the delivery person would keep the drug at an isolated place and a share a video to the buyer who would pick it up from there, Gandhi said.As for the money, it reached Nagi's Dhan Laxmi account in Solan after travelling through various bank accounts, police said. And the people whose accounts were used during these transactions never knew it was drug money, Gandhi said.

A fund flow of Rs 2.5-3 crores was detected in the bank accounts of the accused in the past 15 months, the police said.

Before the arrest of Shashi, the police had already registered five FIRs under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act against nine persons who were part of the drug racket, police said, adding that so far the police have arrested 25 associates of this gang.

The social integrated intelligence network system involving local residents as informers helped in registration of 650 cases and arrest of 1,100 drug peddlers including 205 interstate peddlers in Shimla district in the past 18 months, said Gandhi.

For impact assessment, police will increase intensive patrolling and the reach of social networking. Education institutions and large public places will be kept under surveillance to prevent such drug peddlers, he added.