40-yr-old Nigerian woman arrested with 12kg MDMA in Bengaluru’s big drugs bust

The woman entered India on a business visa five years ago and had been living in Bengaluru long after the visa expired

BENGALURU: A 40-year-old Nigerian woman who had been running a shop in Bengaluru has been arrested and 12kg of party drug MDMA seized at her instance by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) Narcotics Control Squad, city police commissioner B Dayananda said on Tuesday.

The Anti-Narcotics Wing of CCB arrested the woman for selling banned narcotic substances in TC Palya. (X/BlrCityPolice)

Dayananda said the seizure was estimated to be worth ₹24 crore and was the city’s biggest drug haul.

The woman, Roselime, had entered the country on a business visa nearly five years ago and never went back. In Bengaluru, she had been living in the TC Palya area and opened a shop that mostly catered to foreigners.

However, it appears that the shop may have been a front for her involvement in drug peddling.

Acting on information, a CCB Narcotics team raided her premises and seized 12 kg of white and yellow MDMA, the psychedelic drug that is the main ingredient of ecstasy pills.

“This is one of the largest drug seizures in Bengaluru and Karnataka,” said the police commissioner.

Investigators are also trying to figure out why the suspect had 70 SIM cards and the utility of such a large number of phone cards in trafficking drugs.

Over the past week, the city police also seized 190 kg of cannabis worth ₹1.2 crore in separate cases, he said.

Four persons were arrested and 93kg of cannabis was seized by the Yelahanka Police from a truck and an Innova car. In another case, Ashok Nagar Police seized 74kg of cannabis in a raid near a cemetery and arrested four persons.

In the third case, Banaswadi police apprehended a man attempting to sell ganja and recovered 15 kg at his instance. In the fourth case, the Amruthahalli police seized 5 kg of cannabis from a person who had sourced the contraband from Odisha.