Mechanical engineer from a well-to-do family, how Kerala resident Edison became a kingpin selling LSD on dark web

To the town and the neighbourhood, the revelations – a far cry from the “silent and soft-spoken man” they saw him as – came as a massive shock. “There was nothing suspicious in his behaviour. For us, he has been an engineer who worked in Germany and later in Bengaluru before returning to his hometown a few years ago,” a neighbour told The Indian Express.

At the time of his arrest, Edison — who functioned under the code name ‘Ketamelon’ — was allegedly caught in possession of LSD blotters – blotter paper infused with the hallucinogenic lysergic acid diethylamide , or LSD — ketamine and cryptocurrency estimated to cost Rs 1 crore. The arrest allegedly came after four months of police surveillance, and exposed a significant drug syndicate operating on the darknet — a part of the internet on encrypted networks that isn’t accessible through standard search engines or web browsers.

A graduate of the Viswajyothi Engineering College, Vazhakulam, Edison’s was from a “well-settled” family in Muvattupuzha – while his father retired from the state electricity board, his brother is a doctor, those who know the family told The Indian Express.

According to sources in the NCB, Edison’s journey to becoming a “level-four darknet vendor” – a grading that one official said depended upon the potency of the drugs sold and “the customer service” offered — began two years ago.

A “brilliant engineer with deep understanding of the darknet”, Edison had first forayed into the murky world of synthetic drugs 10 years ago in search of some substance for his personal use, the sources said. That allegedly metamorphosed into trafficking, getting him the nickname Ketamelon – the name he also used on the dark web – due to his trafficking of ketamine in the early years.

Then two years ago, he ventured into sourcing the LSD blotter from the UK-based vendor, Gunga Din, which would in turn reship these from Dr Seuss or Tribe Seuss, reckoned as the largest source of these blotter.

According to sources, his associate and classmate Arun Thomas – also arrested with him – would help him. He would allegedly collect parcels reaching the foreign post office in Kochi, and eventually hand it over to Edison, who is then believed to be selling them to their wide distribution network in India – from cities such as Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune, and Chennai to regions of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

“It is very difficult to detect the LSD blotter, which would be concealed among other items, during x-ray checking. With specific input only we can detect the drug,” one customs official said.

At the time of his arrest, he was allegedly among the few dark web drug vendors from India — and the only level-four one in the country.

“In 2023, the NCB had busted the biggest darknet-based LSD cartel named Zambada. It was operating from Delhi, and two kingpins were arrested from Delhi and Jaipur. After this, a third top vendor we identified stopped his business, and that left a vacuum in the darknet. Seeing this as an opportunity, Edison started his business. It was easy for him to source LSD blotter from the UK as he had been already familiar with the sources and modus operandi,” the investigator said.

Five years ago, Edison left his well-paying job in Bengaluru, and started a restaurant in Aluva, Ernakulam, with collegemate Deol K Varghese. The restaurant closed down during the pandemic.

Deol was eventually arrested on charges of smuggling out Ketamine to Australia, although sources said he did not operate on the dark web. At the time of his arrest, Deol was running a resort in Idukki with his wife.

According to NCB sources, Edison’s family was in the dark about his dealings. “Nobody in his family – not even his wife — knew about his dealings,” the investigator said. “All financial dealings were through cryptocurrency, mainly Monero. He has multiple crypto wallets.”

A privacy crypto launched in 2014, Monero has been increasingly gaining notoriety for its use in illicit activities such as money laundering and darknet markets.

Sources, however, said Thomas, another Muvattupuzha native, “had only a limited role in the business” but refused to elaborate.

On Saturday, the NCB moved applications at the principal district and sessions court for the custody of Edison, Arun and Deol. The applications will be considered Monday.

For the local community, the NCB’s alleged findings that Edison was a major synthetic drug dealer came as a massive shock. “He was very silent and interacted with only a few people in the region. Very rarely he was seen outside,” municipal councillor Jinu Antony said. “We came to know of his arrest on July 1”.

A neighbour said: “After Edison’s arrest, his family moved out from Muvattupuzha”.