On anti-drugs day, 4,353 kg of narcotics incinerated

NT Correspondent
Bengaluru

The Bengaluru city police on Sunday initiated the process of destroying the seized drugs, by incinerating them near an industrial area of Sompura of Dabaspet on the city outskirts. On the occasion of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking on June 26, the city police have obtained the required permission from the court to destroy 4,353 kg of narcotic substances that have been seized in the last 12 months between August 25, 2021 and June 26, 2022.

As per the police, the value of the seized narcotic substances including 6,679 MDMA tablets and 2,995 LSD strips, is estimated to be more than Rs 41 crore. The seized narcotics also include ganja, charas, amphetamine, heroin and brown sugar.

The city police have set up a dedicated narcotic storage room at the city police commissioner’s office on Infantry Road to ensure that the quantity of drugs seized are accounted for. Addressing a press conference in the city on Sunday, Bengaluru Commissioner of Police, C.H. Prathap Reddy said that a total of 5,753 people have been arrested in connection with the illegal drug cases and the city police have seized various narcotic substances based on their information.

Investigations by the police have revealed that drugs such as ganja has been brought by the interstate drug peddlers into the city from other states including Telangana, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Assam.

Synthetic drugs including MDMA Ecstasy pills were brought from Delhi, Punjab, Kerala, Maharashtra and Goa, police said. The interstate drug peddlers procured these narcotic substances at a cheap rate and were involved in selling it to the IT professionals and students in Bengaluru, police added.

Foreign Nationals including those from Africa, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania have been arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths for their alleged involvement in drug-related cases in Bengaluru.

The Bengaluru Police Commissioner warned the citizens to check the identity and documents of the foreign nationals before renting out the property to them. The Karnataka police from other districts also incinerated huge quantities of seized drugs on Sunday to mark the Day Against Drug Abuse.