Metro city drug-trafficking ring busted; Rs 2 Cr worth contraband seized

Bengaluru: The Karnataka police said on Tuesday that they had busted a drug-trafficking ring that used hi-tech methods to source and distribute drugs. The peddlers used the dark web, cryptocurrency, and message apps like Instagram and Telegram in major cities for carrying out their operations.

As per an IANS report, the City Central Crime Branch (CCB) Anti-Narcotics Wing conducted an operation in Marathalli and Whitefield, seizing Rs 2 crore in illegal substances and arresting five people from Delhi and Bihar.

MDMA crystals, MDMA ecstasy tablets, LSD strips, cocaine, hashish oil, charas, and ganja were among the contraband seized from the accused.

The authorities have frozen the accused’s five bank accounts. According to investigations, the accused from New Delhi obtained drugs from a foreign drug mafia using cryptocurrency.

Unemployed youth from across the country were lured with a higher salary. The accused kept hired agents in PGs in Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai. They got the drugs parcelled to their rooms through the Indian Postal Service and International Courier Services.

The accused gave details of prices and drugs through Telegram, Instagram, Briar, Confide, and Session messenger applications to contact customers and lure gullible individuals. They got the orders through the Telegram app and got the money through online payment mode.

The drugs were delivered in the form of birthday gifts, medical emergency kits, and courier envelopes through Dunzo and porter logistics services to the doorsteps of customers.

Further investigations are on.

(With IANS inputs)