Bengaluru: An informer’s tip about a drug transaction from a parked car in north Bengaluru on 11 May led police to dismantle an inter-state narcotics network that stretched to the Delhi NCR, drew in three foreigners along with other accused, and yielded MDMA worth crores — with the trail, investigators say, still being mapped.
The unravelling began at 3:30 pm, when the Hebbal police station’s crime staff received word of a suspected sale from a stationary vehicle. “At around 3:30 in the afternoon on 11th May, we received a tip-off by a police informer to our crime staff about drug sales from a parked car. The SI (sub-inspector) in the station was informed and a team of six intercepted and apprehended the suspects,” a police officer told ThePrint.
All three occupants were arrested: Mohammed Mansoor P, a native of Dakshina Kannada living in Bengaluru, and Reena Yadav and Debashish Banerjee, both from Delhi. From the car, police recovered 4.18 kg of MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine).
Produced before a court on 12 May, the three were remanded to ten days’ police custody. What they disclosed under interrogation set the investigation on a far larger course.
They told police that more drugs were stashed in an apartment in the city. On 14 May, officers raided Mansoor’s home in Bengaluru’s Sarjapura and recovered another 10.12 kg of MDMA—more than twice the initial haul.
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Chairs, tables, and train routes
Investigators found that MDMA—which sells at Rs 1,500 per gram and above—was procured from Delhi and surrounding areas, wrapped in cloth, concealed inside wooden chairs and iron tables, gift-wrapped, and dispatched to Bengaluru by train.
In some instances, consignments were first transported to Andhra Pradesh by rail and then moved onward by road to break the trail further.
“The accused used several innovative techniques to avoid suspicion. They also frequently altered their transport routes,” a second police officer told ThePrint.
The scale of the supply chain prompted Bengaluru North Deputy Commissioner of Police B. Nemagouda and other senior IPS officers to reach out to their counterparts in Delhi. A 14-member team left for the capital, and, in a departure from standard practice, they took flights to the capital.
“We usually take trains for such travels, but, considering the sensitivity and the gravity of the case, we got approvals to use the flights. This helped us to be there quickly and not lose time to nab the culprits in the Delhi NCR,” the second police officer said.
The network & the operation
On 16 May, joint raids near the Haryana and Noida borders produced four more arrests, including that of three foreigners: Obianuju Rita from Nigeria, Margereth Linginiko Chale from Tanzania, and Danfa Gerald from Senegal. Their local contact, identified only as Dheeraj, was also taken into custody too.
Transit warrants were swiftly secured and all four were flown to Bengaluru the following day.
The interrogation trail then doubled back to Bengaluru. Abdul Samad—a taxi driver from Bantwal in Dakshina Kannada, now living in Hennur in east Bengaluru—was identified as the network’s distributor. He would distribute the drugs to local peddlers for selling ahead. A search of his Hennur residence turned up another 3.2 kg of MDMA, police said.
Buyers, police said, placed orders online anonymously. Delivery was handled through one of two methods: direct courier to the purchaser, or a dead-drop arrangement—dealers hid consignments at pre-arranged locations, sent photographs of the spot to buyers, and collected payment either in cash or through digital transactions.
Investigators seized 12 mobile phones and other equipment from the accused. The total value of drugs seized was estimated to a market value of Rs 35 crore.
The broader picture
Police said they have stepped up enforcement to crack down on drug trafficking. So far this year, Bengaluru police have registered 2,172 drug-related cases—of which 1,895 were against consumers and 277 against peddlers.
“We have arrested 2,864 Indian nationals, 26 foreign nationals and MDMA worth approximately Rs 168.43 crore has been seized,” the DCP said.
The growing presence of foreign nationals in the supply chain has added operational complexity, a Hebbal police officer noted. Some individuals enter India on student visas, overstay their permitted duration, and gradually find their way into drug networks. Deportation proceedings, when initiated, are frequently prolonged by legal procedures.
“Bengaluru police have adopted a policy under which foreign nationals overstaying beyond their visa limits, and found involved in minor drug-related offences are deported on priority,” a police officer said. For key operators and larger offences, however, police pursue criminal cases.
(Edited by Prerna Madan)
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