Cartels used ex-US presidents' names to mask their identities

John F Kennedy, Franklin D Roosevelt, Bill Clinton - a clutch of names more commonly associated with the White House have, over the past year, found themselves relegated to the relatively ignominious ranks of India's drug-trading circles.

Operatives working with offshoots of Mexican drug cartels in India have started using aliases of former US presidents, American TV show characters, and some Bollywood actors to mask their real identities, officials aware of the probe by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) have said. "Mexican cartels run the drug operations from abroad. It is they who connect all the characters. Because drugs are sourced through courier/darknet and meetings are held over video calls on different apps, every person is given a fake name," the officer added.

For instance, during the October 25 bust on a methamphetamine laboratory in Greater Noida run by the Mexican outfit Cartel De Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), officials came across the name Roosewelt (misspelt with a W).