Bengaluru, Jul 9 (IANS): In a first, Bengaluru police in Karnataka have seized movable and immovable property worth Rs 50 lakh of a drug peddler, Joint Commissioner of CCB Raman Gupta said on Saturday.

The action has been taken as per the provisions of the NDPS Act Chapter 5 (a) Section 68 (e) and (f). The accused had made these assets from the income out of ganja smuggling.

The properties of accused Mallesh G., a resident of Hanur in Chamarajanagar district has been attached. According to police, the accused drug smuggler purchased Rs 50 lakh worth 8 acres of land in 2013 out of the money he made from drug peddling and kept Rs 3 lakh in 5 bank accounts in the name of his wife and son.

The investigation revealed that he earned the money through the sale of ganja in Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka, purchased from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. The investigation officer ordered the seizure of his property on June 8. The approval was given by concerned authorities, SAFEM (FOP) and NDPSA, Chennai on July 8.

Initially the case was registered with Konanakunte police station in Bengaluru in 2018. The Commissioner of Police for Bengaluru city had transferred the case to the Narcotics Prevention Wing of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) on May 19, 2022.

The investigation was carried out as per NDPS Act. It was found that for 10 to 12 years the accused was into drug peddling and smuggling. The accused was involved in 7 NDPS cases in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts.