6 peddlers store drugs in flat for New Year parties; held in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: Eight people were arrested by Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths in three separate cases of drug peddling. Six of them had stored huge quantities of narcotics in a flat at Kothanur, east Bengaluru, for supplying them to New Year eve parties. Police claim to have seized 2.5kg of MDMA, 350 ecstasy pills, 4kg hashish oil, 440 grams charas and 7kg ganja from them.
The six accused in the Kothanur case are Jacob Vinod of Kothanur, his associates Ramana Sanapati from Srikakulam, Irfan and Shaik Mohammed, both from Kadiri in Andhra Pradesh, and Mohammed Mujahid and Ilias, residents of Neelasandra.
According to police, they received information about a person procuring MDMA and ecstasy pills and selling them to addicts through his associates. A team headed by inspector Deepak R rushed to a house in K Narayanapura and arrested Vinod on December 19.
Cops found MDMA and ecstasy pills worth Rs 5 lakh in his possession. Preliminary investigation revealed Vinod had been arrested with 20kg of ganja in 2016 and 50kg in 2017 by Banaswadi police. He was released on bail in both cases and continued peddling.
Vinod told police he worked with an air adventure sports firm in Goa for three years. As there was no demand for such activities between October and March, he came back to Bengaluru and started the drug business to make quick money.
Vinod disclosed that he procured the drugs from Ramana Sanapati, Irfan and Shaik Mohammed in Andhra Pradesh and sold them with the help of Mujahid and Ilias in Bengaluru. All of them were arrested. Vinod confessed that he had stored the narcotics in a Kothanur flat, which was later raided by police. Police said the drugs that reached Vinod were sourced from peddlers in Goa and Delhi.
2 foreigners nabbed
In another case, a team headed by inspector Virupakshaswamy R arrested a 42-year-old Nigerian from Bettadasanapura near Electronics City on December 22, and seized 250 grams of MDMA.
The accused is Agbu Chike Anthony, a resident of Hommadevanahalli. In the third case, a CCB team arrested a 19-year-old student from Ivory Coast and seized 11 grams of cocaine and 100 ecstasy pills. Kauo Esse came to India in 2011 on a student visa.