The much-awaited series Dabba Cartel was released on Netflix on February 28, 2025. The 7-episode series is directed by Hitesh Bhatia, and it revolves around a group of 5 women selling drugs in the guise of a Dabba (lunchbox food) business and an FDSCO Inspector who is investigating the unregulated sale of an opioid medicine Modella in Punjab. Since Dabba Cartel on Netflix discusses banned medicines in India and contains a fentanyl reference along with the US, fans are digging into similar cases. Hence, it is obvious that the Dabba Cartel Real Story or Dabba Cartel True Story is among the most sought-after questions. Interestingly, two Indian companies have been charged in the US in a similar case, as shown in the series.
Is Dabba Cartel a true story?
The answer is no. The makers, at the start of the series, mention that Dabba Cartel is a work of fiction. However, the series outlines the drug abuse in Punjab and how some doctors are even prescribing banned drugs in the state.
Dabba Cartel Storyline
Dabba Cartel started with a Punjabi couple returning to Amritsar late at night. While the husband was sleeping in the passenger's seat, his wife, who was feeling sleepy, was driving the car. While she was driving the car, she fell asleep, resulting in a deadly accident. The man lost his wife, but the Police then find a bottle of a medicine named Modella. On investigation by the Punjab Police, it was found that Modella is a banned drug that the woman was taking. As a result, the court directs FDSCO the job of investigating of death of Parul Bibi Kaur of Amritsar and her link with Modella.
FDSCO is a drug agency that stands for Federal Drug Standard Control Organisation in the Netflix series. The Drug Inspector named Ajiy Pathak of FDSCO, played by actor Gajraj Rao, explains that Modella is Opioid based pain medication is banned but still on sale unregulated in Punjab.
He further explains in the series that Modella contains Fentanyl. Fentanyl is an opioid. Heroin is an opioid made from opium. Fentanyl is 10 times more addictive than heroin. Due to this, 40,000 people die every year in the US. Pathak is investigating an Indian pharma company named Vivalife that makes these types of medicines and used to export in the US.
2 Indian companies have been charged in the US under similar case
Depart of Justice, United States, in a press release in January 2025, charged India-based companies Raxuter Chemicals and Athos Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. (Athos Chemicals) and Bhavesh Lathiya, a founder and senior executive of Raxuter Chemicals, with criminal conspiracies to distribute and import fentanyl precursor chemicals to the United States. Lathiya was arrested on January 4 in New York City.
"Raxuter Chemicals and Lathiya are charged with conspiracy to distribute and import a listed chemical, distribution and importation of a listed chemical knowing it would be used to manufacture fentanyl, smuggling, and other related offenses. Athos Chemicals is charged with similar offenses, including conspiracy to distribute and import a listed chemical and distribution and importation of a listed chemical."
"As alleged in the indictments and court filings, the defendants supplied precursor chemicals to the United States and Mexico, among other places, knowing they would be used to manufacture fentanyl. They also sent their chemical products to the United States and Mexico using international mail and package carriers. The chemicals distributed by the defendants included all the materials necessary to manufacture fentanyl via the most common methods or pathways. To prevent detection and interception of chemical products at the borders, the defendants employed deceptive and fraudulent practices, such as mislabeling packages, falsifying customs forms, and making false declarations at border crossings."
For the unversed, over 74,000 Americans died in 2023 after taking drug mixtures containing fentanyl, according to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC). It is frequently mixed with other illicit drugs, leading many users to be unaware that the substances they are consuming contain fentanyl.
Disclaimer: True Scoop does not intend to point out that Vivalife is based on these 2 Indian Companies. IT has only presented information about the charges the companies are facing in the US.