NEW DELHI: Investigations into the source of the LSD consumed by NRI Anmol Sarna and his friends has unearthed an astounding trail — the psychedelic drug, say cops, was ordered online by a Noida-based ‘master supplier’ and arrived through courier from China, hidden inside books and greeting cards.

Police have arrested the supplier, Dushyant Lamba. Also under arrest are an IIPM student named Nehul, who helped the friends procure the drug and Bhuvan alias Potter, a mediator between Nehul and Dushyant. Sarna, 20, had died in hospital last Saturday after consuming the LSD.

Police sources said Dushyant used to procure the drug from his Beijing-based contact, identified as Eric. The payments were made through a money transfer service. The LSD sheet was hidden inside books and greeting cards and then couriered to Delhi and Noida, the source said.

Police sources said Dushyant first received orders in bulk from small peddlers and his clients in Delhi and NCR over phone and messaging services. Thereafter, he sent an email from his id dushyantlamba@yahoo.com to eric124@gmail.com and placed orders for the LSD. The drug was code-named ‘rabbit’.

Dushyant then transferred the money – around $300-500 for one sheet – into Eric’s account after which the orders were shipped. The orders were either sent through the courier – police have recovered FedEx receipts – or through book posts.

Dushyant has said the sheets were odorless, tasteless and unconventional, so they passed through Customs and evaded sniffer dogs.

One sheet of LSD contained around 100 blotters depending upon quality. The quality varied between LSD brands such as Shiva, Hoffmans’, California Sunshine and Dalai Lama , an officer said. Anmol and friends had consumed Shiva blotters before and paid Rs 1,400 each – a total of Rs 7000 – for five blotters. For Dushyant, police said, the profit margin was as high as 300%. He bought a sheet for around 31,000 in Indian currency and sold it for around Rs 1,20,000.

The source said police had recovered at least 12 emails from Dushyant’s laptop as evidence of the transactions. The cops are also going through two other accounts belonging to Dushyant and have got the account number of the bank in Beijing to which the money was transferred.

Cops said Dushyant, Nehul and Bhuvan were being trailed since Sunday and were finally arrested from Noida under sections of NDPS Act . Dushyant, who runs an event management company as a cover for his drug operations, is being further interrogated, a source said.

DCP P Karunakaran and addl DCP Joy Tirkey are leading a special team of investigators comprising SHO Kalkaji, Nehru Place police post in-charge and 12 others.

Dushyant has been given police custody for a day. Cops said he has confessed to supplying LSD blotters and ecstasy pills to youths at several discotheques and pubs in Delhi and Noida, the details of which are being corroborated. His call details are being scanned to ascertain the identity of the people he was in touch with.

The cops said that three of the five friends who consumed LSD at South Park apartment in south Delhi — Anmol, Shivank Gambhir and Madhav Bahndari — had gone to Noida on September 11 to procure the drug through Madhav’s IIPM classmate, Nehul. Nehul had earlier told Madhav he could arrange for the hallucinogen.

On September 11, Nehul contacted Bhuvan for five blotters, who in turn phoned Dushyant and took the delivery. The blotters were received by the three friends, who stored it in one of their fridges in a ziplock bag. They were consumed two days later on September 13, a Friday.