Karnataka's 'biggest' drug bust: How Mangaluru police cracked Rs 75-crore MDMA haul, arrested two foreign nationals

Mangaluru: Under the Drugs-free Mangaluru initiative of Mangaluru City Police, the Central Crime Branch police have seized 37.870 kg of MDMA, worth Rs 75 crore, following the arrest of two South African women in what is being described as the biggest ever drug haul in Karnataka.

The arrested women were identified as Bamba Fanta alias Adonis Jabulile (31) from Agbovillae, South Africa, and Abigail Adonis alias Olijo Evans (30), also from South Africa.

Bamba Fanta arrived in India on a business visa in 2020 and was residing in Laxmi Vihar, New Delhi, running a food cart business. Abigail came to India in July 2016 on a medical visa and had been residing in Malvia Nagar, New Delhi, where she was involved in the clothing business.

According to Commissioner of Police Anupam Agrawal, The City Crime Branch (CCB) personnel, led by ACP Manoj Kumar Naik, had been investigating the case for the past six months.

The Mangaluru East Police arrested one Hyder in 2024 at Pumpwell, recovering 15 grams of MDMA. Following this, based on information from Hyder, the police arrested Nigerian national Peter Ikedi Belonwu, seizing 6.248 kg of MDMA from him six months ago.

Peter's information led CCB) teams to gather further intelligence on the drug supply chain, including a tip-off that two foreign nationals were involved in transporting MDMA from Delhi to Bengaluru and other locations across India.

Acting on intelligence that the women were traveling from Delhi to Bengaluru on the night of March 13, the CCB team from Mangaluru went to Bengaluru. They closely monitored the women upon their arrival at the airport, and after they hired a taxi to distribute the drugs to other suppliers, the CCB followed them for five to six hours before arresting them at Neeladri Nagara near Electronic City in Bengaluru on March 14. 

The police seized MDMA in crystal form, packed in two trolley bags, along with four mobile phones, two passports, and Rs 18,460 in cash.

Upon their arrival in Bengaluru, the women were supplying MDMA to Nigerian nationals and others in areas like Nelamangala, Hosakote, and KR Puram, living a lavish lifestyle. Their modus operandi involved returning to Delhi within 24 hours of arriving in Bengaluru.

Preliminary investigations revealed that both women were using fake passports and visas while traveling between Bengaluru and New Delhi. It is suspected they were procuring MDMA either from outside the country or from around Delhi for distribution. The police are still investigating whether the two women knew each other, the commissioner added.

The Commissioner further informed that the duo had made 59 trips between Bengaluru and Delhi in the past six months. They confessed to being involved in drug trafficking for the past year and a half.  

Due to the significant drug seizure and the inter-state nature of the trafficking operation, the city police plan to inform the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).