Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Oct 9: The Mangaluru City Crime Branch (CCB) police have busted a network allegedly planning to transport and sell the banned narcotic drug MDMA through courier services. Three accused have been arrested, and 1 kg and 796.96 grams of MDMA, valued at approximately Rs 1.58 crore, have been seized.
Acting on credible information that banned MDMA was being sold to the public in Mangaluru city, the CCB police conducted an operation near a supermarket at Kumpala in Ullal taluk at around 10 pm on October 8, and arrested three accused.
The police seized 1 kg and 796.96 grams of MDMA, three mobile phones, a car and an auto-rickshaw allegedly used to transport the narcotic substance, a cardboard courier box and a water purifier. The total value of the seized property is Rs 1,63,84,000. A case has been registered at Ullal police station, and the investigation is continuing.
The arrested accused have been identified as Abdul Hafeel (25), a resident of Mangalpady, Kasargod district, Kerala; Ziaul Haq (30), Kasaba Bengre, Kuloor, Mangaluru; and Altaf (28), currently residing at Pandeshwar, Mangaluru. His permanent address is Faisal Nagar, Bajal village, Jalligudde Post, Mangaluru.
According to the police, Abdul Hafeel was previously booked in a case related to consumption of narcotic substances at Ullal police station. Ziaul Haq had been involved in a narcotics sale case in Ras Al Khaimah, Dubai, where he served a three-year prison sentence before returning to India. A case related to consumption of narcotic substances had also previously been registered against Altaf at Pandeshwar police station.
The accused allegedly purchased MDMA in Amritsar, Punjab, and concealed the substance securely inside the water storage compartment of a water purifier. They then planned to send it to Mangaluru through a courier service and subsequently distribute and sell the narcotic substance in various parts of Mangaluru city and Kerala.
The CCB police said they had succeeded in detecting and preventing the network at an early stage, before the planned distribution and sale could proceed. The three accused will be interrogated and produced before the court.