Bengaluru drug cases drop as cops tweak strategy

Bengaluru: A small but significant shift in the Bengaluru police's internal policy of classifying drug users as victims rather than offenders has significantly reduced cases under the NDPS Act, even as the well-oiled network that supplies narcotics continues to thrive. 

According to the City Crime Record Bureau (CCRB) data, police registered 4,555 cases in 2021, 4,027 in 2022, 3,443 in 2023 but just 495 in 2024 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. 

Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda acknowledged that the fall in case numbers was a direct result of this policy change. Police no longer register criminal cases against drug consumers unless they are involved in other criminal acts. 

"The aim is to go after the supply chain rather than the end user, who is often a victim of addiction," Dayananda told DH. 

While the policy has reduced case numbers, police sources stress that the city’s drug problem remains layered, with networks involving foreign nationals, medical stores selling unauthorised drugs and underground trafficking channels. 

Last year, the government announced a task force to curb the drug menace but the plan has remained on paper. Police still do not have powers to file cases against medical stores selling unauthorised drugs.

With the new policy in place, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) has spearheaded the drive against drugs. 

A senior CCB official said the earlier three-pronged approach —  targeting consumers, small-time peddlers and kingpins — proved ineffective in addressing the core issue. 

"Earlier, we were focusing on seizing drugs but the people caught would often go back to drug use or peddling. Now, we treat consumers as informants to trace the suppliers,” the officer explained. 

This change in strategy has resulted in some major breakthroughs. 

In 2023, a drug peddler arrested in Chamarajpet by a team led by then Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) S D Sharanappa led investigators to a major ganja supplier in Visakhapatnam. It was one of the largest ganja hauls in the city's history, with the CCB team camping in Andhra Pradesh for nearly three weeks. 

Police have also started investigating how digital platforms are being misused to distribute drugs. 

When R Srinivas Gowda took charge of the CCB, focus shifted to delivery agents employed by courier apps to transport drugs. Representatives of all major delivery firms were directed to improve internal monitoring. 

Despite these efforts, officials say Bengaluru’s vast drug ecosystem continues to evolve. Senior CCB officers revealed that while local peddlers dominate the trade, foreign nationals who arrive in Bengaluru through students and medical visa holders are also involved in peddling, often targeting students and the IT workforce. 

To tackle this, police have been enforcing a rule that requires landlords to inform them when renting houses to foreigners. 

Students say peddlers now avoid direct contact. Transactions take place digitally, and drugs are picked up from pre-designated hidden spots, making detection even harder. 

The new approach has also led to fewer complaints of police misconduct. "Earlier, there were reports of officers planting drugs or seeking bribes to let users off. Now that users are not booked, such complaints have reduced," Dayananda noted. 

As part of this outreach, police are also attending parent-teacher meetings in schools and colleges to educate families about warning signs of drug use among children.