Bengaluru, Sep 29 (PTI) Six persons, one of them a foreign national, were arrested for allegedly procuring and selling MDMA at higher prices to the public and college students, police said on Tuesday.
A total of 5.48 kg of MDMA, valued at Rs 5.48 crore, was seized from their possession. The market value of the seized drug was estimated at Rs 10.96 crore, police said.
Police said they had received credible information from informants on different dates about the sale of narcotic substances within the jurisdictions of Girinagar, Hebbal and Vidyaranyapura police stations.
Based on the information, searches were conducted at the locations indicated by the informants, following which six persons, one of them a foreign national and three from other states, were taken into custody on different dates, police said.
“During interrogation, they confessed to purchasing narcotic substances at lower prices from unidentified persons from foreign countries, other states and within the state and selling them at higher prices to the public and college students with the intention of making more money,” a senior police officer said.
Efforts are underway to trace the unidentified persons who allegedly supplied the narcotic substances to the accused, and further investigation is underway, police said.
The arrested persons have been remanded to judicial custody.
Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), also known as Molly or Ecstasy, is a banned substance.
Speaking to reporters here, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh said city police had recovered 79.5 kg of MDMA and 1,000 ecstasy pills, valued at Rs 161 crore, over the last few months.
He clarified that the figure pertained only to seizures made within the limits of the Hebbal and Girinagar police stations.
“The investigation has continued from April through September and has been carried out with the help of 36 police teams comprising around 140 officers and staff. We have also recovered Rs 18.6 lakh in cash, 43 mobile phones, two cars and two two-wheelers,” he said.
The seizures were made through detailed technical analysis, undercover operations in different states by police personnel over an extended period, following every available lead and, most importantly, tracking the money trail, Singh said.
The Northeast Division, CCB and other units have carried out separate operations. Therefore, the total value of drug seizures made by Bengaluru police over the last one year could exceed Rs 300 crore, he said.
According to Singh, drugs were earlier transported by air, following which the networks shifted to railways. Police have now identified another modus operandi in which the drugs are transported by buses.
“Whatever routes and networks are being used, we are making every effort to ensure that Bengaluru remains free from drugs,” he said, adding that the crackdown was part of the Karnataka government’s ‘No Drugs’ policy and anti-drug campaign. PTI AMP SSK
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