Bengaluru police arrest absconding drug peddler, seize properties worth Rs 1 crore

The Bengaluru Police have arrested a 54-year-old drug peddler from Bihar, who had been absconding since mid-2019, and have seized his assets. The accused, whose name has not been revealed, had also been convicted in a drugs-related offence in 2009 and was found guilty then too. Speaking to Times of India, M Chandrashekhar, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Central Range said that the drug peddler owned several movable and immovable properties, which were registered under his wife’s name, and that they now have been seized by the police. The properties included lands near Anekal, a Tata Scorpio, and a three-bedroom flat. Additionally, Chandrashekhar had said that Rs 9.7 lakh was also seized from a joint account held by the peddler and his wife.

According to a report in The New Indian Express, the overall worth of the assets have been pegged at Rs 1.6 crore. The report further stated that the investigation had been taken up by the police under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

The TOI report stated that the Suryanagar police had busted a drug trafficking ring in 2019 where it had seized 822 kg grams of marijuana. A total of three people, two from Andhra Pradesh and one from Anekal, were arrested during the seizure and the drug peddler’s involvement was revealed.

Speaking to TNIE, a senior police official had said that the peddler used to get the marijuana from Odisha, transport it into Bengaluru with the help of his contact in Visakhapatnam and distribute it to local drug dealers.

The TOI report further stated that since 2019, the peddler had been absconding and was recently caught by a team of Bengaluru Rural Police. The report stated that he was hiding in the Arrah village in Bihar’s Bhojpur.

The TOI report also stated that the peddler was originally from Arrah and had been previously convicted there for a drug-related offence and had later settled in Byagadadenahalli of Anekal in 2016.