Representative image of drugs.
Credit: iStock Photo
Mangaluru: In a major drive against narcotics, the Mangaluru CCB team has arrested a Nigerian national and recovered 6.310 kg of MDMA worth Rs 6 crore.
The arrested is Peter Ikedi Belonwu (38). He was residing at Govinda Reddy Layout, in Bengaluru, Commissioner of Police Anupam Agrawal said.
The police have also recovered three mobile phones, digital weighing scale, 35 ATM/ debit cards, 17 inactive SIM cards and 10 passbooks of various banks. The value of the total seized property is Rs 6,00,63,500.
The commissioner said that the CCB police had arrested Hyder alias Hyder Ali (51) at a lodge in Pumpwell on September 29 and recovered 15 gram MDMA from his possession.
To trace the drug peddlers, the CCB sleuths collected information on the peddlers from the arrested Hyder and through technical inputs, the police arrested the Nigerian national.
The Commissioner said that a case was registered against Peter in Vidyaranyapura police station in Bengaluru in 2023 on the charges of drug peddling. He was supplying drugs to various parts of the state including Bengaluru, and Kerala.
Some more people are involved in the drug peddling and the investigation is currently underway.
Agrawal said the MDMA was delivered in small sachets clandestinely.
They used chips, biscuits packets by placing it near dustbins and sharing the Google location to the recipients, who used to come and collect it.
“It was a well-organised network and drugs were supplied to the public, students and working professionals .
"The MDMA was in crystal form in various packets. The police have information on the immediate supplier of the MDMA and we will make an effort to nab him at the earliest,” he explained.
Furthermore, the debit cards the accused had in possession were not in his name. His visa had already expired in 2019.
“We will verify the details of the case booked against him in Bengaluru, whether his overstay in India was also taken into account while booking a case,” said the Commissioner of Police.
Lauding the team, Karnataka DGP Alok Mohan has announced a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh to the CCB team. In addition, the Commissioner of Police also announced Rs one lakh to the team.
Under the guidance of Commissioner of Police Anupam Agrawal, DCPs Sidharth Goyal, B P Dinesh Kumar, the CCB team led by ACP Manoj Kumar Naik, inspector Shyamsundar H M, PSIs Sudeep M V, Sharanappa Bhandary, Narendra, ASIs Mohan K V, Rama Poojary, Sheenappa, Sujan Shetty and others were part of the operation.