Image for representational purposes.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mysuru: Over a period of just six months, police forces from outside Karnataka have conducted raids on two narcotics manufacturing units in Mysuru, raising an alarm about the extent of drug production and abuse in the cultural capital of the state.
The first raid by an outside police force was on July 27, 2025, by the Maharashtra Police, when they seized about 11 kg of ready to sell MDMA (3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine) and raw materials at a manufacturing unit in a garage at Unnathi Nagar, near Mysuru Ring Road.
The second raid was on January 28, 2026, by a team of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) from Delhi on a factory, which was suspected to be manufacturing drugs in Hebbal Industrial Area, in Mysuru.
Tentacles spread
Retired Deputy Commissioner of Police J B Rangaswamy, who served in Mysuru for over two decades, starting from the rank of Sub-Inspector, said, that earlier narcotics abuse was limited to children of wealthy parents, but now, children from all sections of the society have been victimised.
He said, “Earlier Police Commissioners of Mysuru like H R Kasturirangan and Kempaiah were hell bent on eradicating drugs and gambling from Mysuru. However, over the past three decades, there has been a gradual spread of the mafia in Mysuru."
"Now, it is at its peak. If the top officers of the Police and other departments concerned are strict, the entire force and system will be alert and would act sternly against the offenders. The top officers should be careful in handling both drugs and gambling networks, because they have a direct bearing on other crimes such as theft, robbery, assault, extortion and murder.”
Possibilities
“Sometimes the Police department may not get adequate information. It could genuinely be an intelligence failure. But, there are exceptions too. If the system fails, it is not just a matter of crime thriving, but the prospects of the future generations will be at stake,” Rangaswamy, who is popularly known as JBR, said.
JBR said, “The authorities should trace the supply chain, to reach the source. If two manufacturing units have been busted, there can be more such units, not just in Mysuru, but also in the neighbouring districts like Kodagu. There should be a multi-pronged approach, to eradicate the drugs and gambling menace”.
NCB unit sought for Mysuru
Following the NCB raid on the Hebbal Industrial Area unit in Mysuru, Mysore-Kodagu MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar has demanded for an NCB unit in Mysuru, to make the city drug-free.
Earlier, when the Unnathi Nagar unit was busted by the Maharashtra Police, Wadiyar had raised the issue in the Lok Sabha and had sought the Centre’s intervention, to tackle the drugs menace in Mysuru and Karnataka.
He said, “There should be an inquiry to know why City Police Commissioner Seema Latkar and Home Minister G Parameshwara gave wrong information and stated that the NCB just visited for verification and they found no drugs or raw materials”.
Action demanded
BJP state spokesman M G Mahesh has demanded the resignation of the Home Minister and suspension of Mysuru City Police Commissioner for giving false information and misleading the people.
Meanwhile, Mysuru South Police, under Mysuru District Police, conducted a raid on a house at Sapthamathruka Layout in Yadahalli, Mysuru taluk, and seized raw materials used to manufacture opium. They have filed an FIR under NDPS Act.