Four women from a nomadic tribe in Andhra Pradesh have been arrested in a drug bust that came to light in June. A Nigerian national, who allegedly received the contraband from the women and supplied it to customers in Bengaluru, has also been arrested, the CCB said.
A CCB team picked up the women from an auto stand at the Puttaparthi railway station on September 24 after tailing them for almost a month. The sleuths, led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Ramachandra B and inspector B S Ashok, had received information that the women were on their way to deliver the drugs to dealers in the city.
The CCB seized large quantities of drugs from the women — 10 kg of ganja, 8 kg of hashish oil and 1.4 kg of MDMA crystals.
Based on the information provided by the women, the CCB later arrested John, the Nigerian national, from his residence in Soladevanahalli, North Bengaluru. This was his fourth arrest in India. He was twice arrested in Bengaluru for drug peddling and in Hyderabad for a cybercrime.
On June 23, CCB sleuths arrested Jeetan Jude Harris, a 38-year-old DJ, from Viveknagar, and seized ganja, MDMA and LSD from him. Harris led the police to the women.
According to police, the women are from the Araku Valley in the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh. They have been identified as Gunderi Pushpa, Budi Vijaya, Devi and Pangi Poornima, all aged between 25 and 28 years.
Apparently, they do not have any identification proof as they belong to a nomadic tribe. They trekked about 25 km in the deep forest to receive drugs from the kingpin, who remains at large.
(Published 27 September 2022, 16:32 IST)
JOIN US