The apartment where the students had set up a grow house (Picture Courtesy: @ips_patil) | Photo Credit: Twitter

Key Highlights The students had secured the cannabis seeds from Netherlands through the dark web Other drugs, including LSD, were also recovered from the apartment A similar bust was carried out by Bengaluru City Police in November of this year

Bengaluru: In a crackdown on Karnataka's narcotics trade, sleuths with the Central Crime Branch (CCB) raided an apartment in the state capital and seized paraphernalia used to grow cannabis in a controlled environment. A number of boys have been arrested in connection with this racket, all of whom are students.

According to the Joint-Commissioner of Police (crime) Sandeep Patil, the boys had acquired cannabis seeds from the Netherlands using the Dark Web. Other drugs, including lysergic acid diethylamide, more commonly known as LSD, were also recovered from the apartment. These students had been sourcing cannabis seeds from the Netherlands using the Dark Web and had managed to set up an environment to grow the plant in a thoroughly controlled environment.

The IPS officer confirmed that the dark web, a part of the internet that is not accessible to the public, played a major role in the operations of this international narcotics racket. Pictures of the apartment where they were growing cannabis show strategic use of LED lights and other equipment which allow the growers to maintain a rigid control on surrounding conditions in an attempt to nurture the growth of the plant.

CCB unearths another Intl drug cartel..accused, who are students operated on DARKWEB & got LSD &cannabis drugs & seeds from Netherlands..grew cannabis in the apartment having controlled environment condition using LED lights.. pic.twitter.com/18eYauPMjh — Sandeep Patil IPS (@ips_patil) December 13, 2019

In November of this year, a similar operation was carried out by the Bengaluru City Police. Officers raided an apartment in the city and recovered flavoured amphetamine (crystal-meth) along with marijuana and weed-flavoured cigarettes. Cash to the tune of ₹1 lakh was also found in the apartment rented by one Atif Aslam, a student hailing from Kolkata. He was taken into custody and booked under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Police officers had revealed, like in the most recent bust, Aslam was also using the Dark Web to source drugs from Canada. The police commissioner had also told media outlets that he paid the dealers in Bitcoin.