Bengaluru police seize drugs worth Rs 60.86 crore, arrest 8 in narcotics racket

Bengaluru, Jul 11 (PTI) The Bengaluru police busted an international narcotics trafficking network and arrested eight people, five of them foreign nationals, officials said on Saturday. They also seized banned narcotic substances with an estimated market value of Rs 60.86 crore. Police said they seized 29 kg of MDMA, 20 grams of cocaine, and 1,000 ecstasy pills from the accused. The operation was carried out by the Hebbal police station, the CCB Anti-Narcotics Wing, and the Girinagar police station in separate cases registered under the NDPS Act, police said. According to a statement, five special teams were constituted by the Hebbal police over the past 15 days as part of the operation, following which a Nigerian national based in New Delhi, a woman from Manipur residing in Bengaluru, and two residents were arrested. The team seized 17.282 kg of MDMA from their possession, with an estimated market value of Rs 34.56 crore. In a separate operation, the CCB Anti-Narcotics Wing registered three NDPS cases and arrested three foreign nationals, including two Nigerians and a South African. Police seized 6.718 kg of MDMA and 20 grams of cocaine from them, with an estimated market value of Rs 14.30 crore. Investigation revealed that the drugs had been procured from a Delhi-based supplier and were being distributed to local peddlers in Bengaluru, a senior police officer said. In the third case, officers and staff of the Girinagar police station had been gathering intelligence for the past 10 days based on credible information received from informants about the sale of prohibited narcotic drugs within the station limits. During the operation, another Nigerian national was apprehended, and 5 kg of MDMA and 1,000 ecstasy pills, estimated to be worth Rs 12 crore, were seized from his possession, police said. “Investigation revealed that the seized MDMA had been transported from New Delhi by a foreign national and was being supplied through local accused for illegal distribution across Bengaluru city,” it said. According to police, Bengaluru city has registered 2,936 NDPS cases so far in 2026 and arrested 3,840 accused, including 37 foreign nationals. During this period, authorities seized 1,415.274 kg of narcotic drugs worth Rs 221.27 crore, with an estimated market value of Rs 322.92 crore. PTI AMP SSK