NCB's massive drug bust: what is LSD blot, top officer explains

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on Tuesday said it has made the "largest-ever" single operation seizure of about 15,000 LSD blots in the country and arrested six people after it busted an international drugs trafficking network operating on the darknet.

The seizure, as per officials, is estimated to be worth over Rs 10 crore in the international market (about Rs 5K-7K per blot) and all the six who have been taken into custody, beginning late last month, are students and youngsters who wanted to make "easy money" by remaining anonymous within the deep layers of secret internet-based apps and messenger service like WICKR.

LSD or lysergic acid diethylamide is a synthetic chemical based-drug and is categorised as a hallucinogen. It is trafficked by painting it on blots, half the size of a stamp paper, and is consumed by licking or swallowing.

"This is the "largest-ever" seizure of LSD blots in the country in a single operation. Six youngsters have been arrested till now and we are on the trail of one more such cartel," NCB deputy director general (northern region) Gyaneshwar Singh told reporters here.

Those arrested are in the age group of 25-28 years, the officials said.

A total of 14,961 blots were seized as part of the about two-week long operation and the blots are of "gammagoblin and holy spirit of asura" brand, Singh said.

The deputy DG further said that till now, the highest seizure of LSD was 5,000 blots by the Karnataka Police during the entire span of 2021 and about a similar amount of blots by the Kolkata NCB in 2022 in a single operation. LSD abuse is largely prevalent among youngsters and it can lead to serious health issues, Singh said.

According to the officials, LSD is known as 'acid' in illegal drug parlance and is odourless, colourless and tasteless and the user loses the sense of space, distance and time affecting their judgement and behaviour severely.

Possession of 0.1 gram of LSD (about six blots), which is the commercial quantity for the hallucinogenic drug, invites strict legal action under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, leading to a denial of bail and rigorous imprisonment in jail for the person who trades or consumes it, an NCB officer said.

NCB's deputy DG Singh said the latest seizure of about 15,000 LSD blots is 2,500 times of the commercial quantity.