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Drug trafficking racket busted, 7 held in Karnataka
According to Amit Gawate, zonal director of NCB’s Bengaluru unit, based on specific information on Thursday, they arrested two residents of Bengaluru while they were in the process of taking delivery of eight boxes of the contraband from a courier vehicle and were loading the same into a car.
The Narcotics Control Bureau has busted a drug trafficking racket, wherein the accused posed as food delivery agents for supplying drugs in Bengaluru and Shivamogga. According to a statement from NCB on Saturday, this gang of seven people used the recent lockdown to deliver drugs across the two cities. According to NCB, all seven are under arrest.
According to Amit Gawate, zonal director of NCB’s Bengaluru unit, based on specific information on Thursday, they arrested two residents of Bengaluru while they were in the process of taking delivery of eight boxes of the contraband from a courier vehicle and were loading the same into a car.
“A thorough examination revealed 137 kg of high-grade marijuana packed in paper packets wrapped with adhesive tapes, which was seized. Searches at the residence of one of the accused resulted in the recovery of ₹4.81 lakh cash. Packing materials used for retail packing of the contraband was also found,” read a statement from NCB.
The NCB said that a online food delivery executive who was about to deliver a parcel was also apprehended. NCB also claimed that during the lockdown, peddlers pretending to be agents of a popular online food delivery company delivered drugs in Bengaluru.
“The traffickers, instead of going and buying the drugs, booked the drugs consignments through couriers, by giving addresses of non-functional shops or other business establishments,” the NCB said in a statement.
“The kingpin, along with associates, were indulged in drug trafficking in large scale in Bengaluru and its outskirts and were delivering the drugs to their consumers under the disguise of online food delivery boys since lockdown guidelines under Covid-19 restrictions allow such deliveries under service of essential commodities,” the NCB added.
“This drug cartel hired several delivery boys of that online food delivery company in their drug syndicate and mastered the drug delivery mechanism in Bengaluru. The syndicate thrived especially during the lockdown period and used to assure customers of doorstep delivery,” the NCB said in the statement.
The NCB said it carried out searches at residential premises of another accused, and that it has recovered about three kilograms of ganja, packed in small packets with specific markings on it, and cash of ₹39,000. A follow-up action led to the arrest of four people in Shivamogga on October 1, including the man who has been handling the finances of the network, the agency claimed.
