New Delhi, Oct. 17 -- The Supreme Court on Friday orally observed that in cases relating to trafficking and manufacturing of illegal drugs and narcotic substances, smaller players often get arrested while the real masterminds and suppliers manage to stay behind the scenes.

A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Vipul M. Pancholi questioned the unfortunate reality of India's growing drug menace, stating how many true kingpins have actually been apprehended and how many sources of narcotic supply have ever been effectively tapped.

"In NDPS matters, there is never any arrest of the kingpin. They stay behind, obviously, A, B, C, and D will be caught. How many cases have kingpins been charged with? How many sources have been tapped? Where did...