Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (JD)
Udupi, Sept 17: In a significant crackdown on the drug trade, Udupi City police have arrested a 33-year-old man from Moodanidambur village for possession and attempted sale of banned narcotic substances, including MDMA and ganja. The arrest took place on Tuesday near 1st Cross, Garadi Road, Moodanidambur, following a swift and well-coordinated raid.
The accused has been identified as Iqbal (33), a resident of Moodanidambur, Udupi. Acting on specific intelligence inputs indicating that a man was attempting to sell drugs from a scooter, police personnel laid a trap and apprehended the suspect.
The operation was led by DySP Prabhu D T (Udupi sub-division) and Udupi Town police inspector Manjunath V Badiger, assisted by sub-inspectors Bharatesh Kankanawadi and Gopalakrishna Jogi, along with police personnel Surendra D, Harish Naik, and Shiva Kumar.
During interrogation, the accused confessed to possessing the narcotics with the intent to sell them in the Udupi–Manipal region. A detailed search of his TVS Jupiter scooter led to the seizure of various narcotics and related paraphernalia, with an estimated total value of Rs 43,800.
The seized items include 205 grams of ganja worth Rs 12,600 and three packets of MDMA weighing a total of 1.31 grams valued at Rs 2,500. In addition to the narcotics, police recovered one ATOM silver-coloured weighing machine, a black box, 52 zip-lock covers, an electronic vape with three plastic filters, and a black Oppo mobile phone worth Rs 8,000.
Officers also found cash amounting to Rs 4,760 in a brown wallet, a second weighing machine valued at Rs 600, a handbag, a yellow carry bag, and the TVS Jupiter scooter allegedly used in the drug trade.
A case has been registered at the Udupi Town police station (Crime No. 172/2025) under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 — notably Sections 8(C) and 20(b)(II)(A).
The accused was produced before the jurisdictional court following his arrest. According to police sources, the operation forms part of an ongoing intensified campaign against drug trafficking in the district.
Further investigations are underway to trace the source of the drugs and uncover potential links to wider drug networks operating along the coastal Karnataka belt.