'Order on WhatsApp, no-contact deliveries': How Shimla police unearthed interstate drug racket run by apple trader

NEW DELHI: 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'.

The breakthrough came on September 20, following the police's seizure of 465 grams of 'chitta' from Kharapathar the day before. "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.

Negi, along with 40 associates, distributed drugs under the guise of an apple business in areas like Rohru, Jubbal-Kotkhai, and Theog. He had connections with Nigerian and other gangs in New Delhi, Haryana, and Kashmir.

Gandhi explained the gang’s modus operandi: The drugs changed hands four times before delivery. Different teams managed demand, supply, and payments, ensuring Negi had no direct contact with partners. Orders were verified and placed via WhatsApp, drugs were placed in isolated locations, and videos were shared with buyers for pickups.

Money from transactions passed through multiple bank accounts before reaching Negi’s account in Solan. "People whose accounts were used during these transactions never knew it was drug money," Gandhi stated.

A fund flow of Rs 2.5-3 crore was detected in Negi's accounts over the past 15 months. The police had earlier registered five FIRs under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act against nine involved persons, arresting 25 so far.

A local intelligence network facilitated the registration of 650 cases and the arrest of 1,100 drug peddlers, including 205 interstate peddlers in Shimla over the past 18 months. To prevent further drug peddling, police will increase patrolling and surveillance in educational institutions and public places.