Bengaluru Police bust interstate drug racket; seize 13 kg ganja

Bengaluru: In two separate operations, the Viveknagar police arrested two men and seized more than 13 kg of ganja, busting an interstate drug trafficking racket in Bengaluru.

Acting on a tip-off, the police arrested Gopinatha Samal, 43, a native of Odisha, on August 25 near the ASC Centre Mystery Compound on Lower Agram Road. They seized 11.15 kg of ganja worth Rs 5 lakh from his possession. The police said that Samal brought ganja from Odisha to Bengaluru to sell for profit. He has a previous case registered at the Ramamurthy Nagar police station. He was produced before the court.

In a second raid the following day, the police apprehended Birendar Pandy near Austin Town Neelasandra Chor Park in Viveknagar. They seized 2.27 kg of ganja worth Rs 60,000.

The police said that Pandy, who has a case pending at the Varthur police station, had brought the contraband from Bihar along with another absconding person. The narcotics were meant to be sold to young people in small packets.

Both accused have been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. The case is under trial in the Principal District and Sessions Court, Bangalore Urban District. The police are investigating the wider network and supply chain of the drugs.