MANGALURU: In the biggest-ever drug haul by the Karnataka police, 37.870 kg of banned MDMA worth about Rs 75 crore was seized by the Mangaluru city police in Bengaluru, leading to the arrest of two South African nationals.
The accused, Bamba Fanta, alias Adonis Jabulile, 31, and Abigali Adonis, alias Odijo Evans, 30, were intercepted at Neeladrinagar near Electronic City in Bengaluru on Saturday morning when they were on their way to supply the drugs to the peddlers. Both the accused were staying illegally in the country by furnishing fake passports and visas.
Explaining their modus operandi, Mangaluru city police commissioner Anupam Agrawal said that the two women used to travel from Delhi to Bengaluru and Mumbai in late night flights with the drugs packed in trolley bags, deliver it to peddlers in Nelamangala, KR Puram, Whitefield, Hosakote, Electronic City and other places through cabs during early morning and return. It is suspected that they were procuring the drugs from outside India or somewhere near Delhi.
As per initial reports, both the accused were into the drug cartel for more than one year. Bamba, who came to Delhi on a business visa in 2020, was involved in the food cart business before she forayed into the drug business one and a half years ago. Adonis landed in India on a medical visa in July 2020 and got into some cloth business before she shifted to the drug business. Both of them were leading a lavish life.
Agrawal said that in the last one year, the accused duo made more than 50 trips from Delhi to Mumbai and Bengaluru to supply drugs. However, he said that in Karnataka, they were supplying drugs only in Bengaluru and had no connection with Mangaluru.
How Mangaluru police crack down on major drug networks?
The police commissioner stated that the relentless efforts of Mangaluru CCB officers over the past six months have led to the biggest drug seizure ever recorded in the city. The breakthrough came after a small seizure of 15 grams of MDMA from a peddler named Hyder Ali at a lodge in Pumpwell near Mangaluru.
Following the seizure, the Mangaluru East police handed the case over to the CCB to track down the main supplier. This investigation led the police to Peter Ikedi Belonwu, a Nigerian national, from whom over 6 kg of MDMA was confiscated. The police continued their efforts to dismantle the drug network, which eventually resulted in the arrest of two more African nationals.
The commissioner said that the investigation is ongoing to determine how the accused managed to smuggle drugs through high-security airports for such a long time and whether security officials were involved. The police plan to seek assistance from the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for further investigation.