Kochi: A quiet techie from Muvattupuzha, who once worked with top engineering firms, has turned out to be the mastermind behind India’s most prolific darknet drug syndicate. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) unmasked him after months of surveillance and a well-timed raid. Though involved in drug trafficking for over six years, the 35-year-old was active in darknet operations only for the past two.

The NCB had identified his role in operating 'Ketamelon', which the agency has dubbed India's most prolific darknet syndicate, a month and a half ago. The agency waited for strong evidence to emerge before nabbing him. Their moment came on June 28 when three parcels addressed to Edison arrived at the Kochi International Post Office. On examining the parcels, the NCB found 280 LSD blots. The next day, NCB sleuths knocked on Edison's doors. During the search of his house, 847 more LSD blots and 131.66 grams of Ketamine were seized.

According to sources, Edison was stunned when confronted about Ketamelon. “He seemed genuinely shocked. It appeared he never expected anyone to uncover his identity. He had kept his activities hidden even from his wife and maintained a quiet, introverted life in the neighbourhood,” said an NCB official.

Techie-turned-trafficker
Edison has graduated in Mechanical Engineering from a college in the Ernakulam district. He has worked with top companies in the field in Bengaluru and Pune. He got into drug peddling during this period.

Later, he returned to Kerala and started a restaurant in Aluva. He had to shut the shop during the COVID-induced lockdown. After that, he settled down at home and became active in dark-net-based drug trafficking. He used to source large quantities of synthetic drugs through the darknet and sell them to his customers. He used to receive the drugs through international couriers, the NCB source said.

The NCB has taken another Muvattupuzha native also into custody for alleged involvement in the crime.

The NCB has seized from Edison’s house a pen drive containing TAILS OS, an operating system maintaining privacy and anonymity while browsing the internet and using a computer used to access darknet markets, multiple cryptocurrency wallets, hard disks with incriminating documents and a hardware wallet holding approximately USDT cryptocurrency worth around Rs 70 lakh.

Investigations revealed that “Ketamelon” was India’s only Level 4 darknet vendor—a top-tier status in India—operating actively over the past two years. The name derives from the vendor’s early involvement in Ketamine smuggling. Drugs were primarily sourced from a UK-based vendor, Gunga Din, a known re-shipper of the globally infamous Dr Seuss (aka DS or Tribe Seuss), believed to be the largest LSD source in the world.

“Ketamelon” had established a widespread network, shipping LSD to major cities including Bangalore, Chennai, Bhopal, Patna, Delhi, and regions in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Over the last 14 months, 600 shipments were reportedly shipped by Ketamelon. The estimated street value of the seized drugs is approximately ₹35.12 lakhs, with LSD blots priced at ₹2,500–₹4,000 each.