The jaw-dropping raids and arrests led to the busting of a large-scale drug trafficking gang in Mandya district, Karnataka, which included six accused people and police who seized over 20 kg of ganja worth almost Rs 10 lakh.
This scene was achieved through a police operation of Pandavapura Police in Kunthibetta, which was conducted after authorities were alerted to illegal ganja in the district of Kunthibetta, as alleged by the Pandavapura Police after the district was raided.
The accused had been the one on whom charges of smuggling the drug from Odisha to Mandya and the other neighbouring districts were laid, police sources said. The contraband was then transported by train from Odisha to Bengaluru in cars to be transported for local supply operations, according to investigators.
They were arrested by police in the case as suspects Shreyas Gowda, Shashikumar, and Vinod. Other suspects, along with a pen name that they are known as Arun Kumar alias “Ganja Arun,” Munjunath and Vijay, are currently on the run. Search action is now being directed at the remaining suspects, and arrests are being made, finding them out there as individuals, as part of the broader web, which is the network that includes this racket. Officials said the gang pursued a double-life strategy to evade detection.
They worked in the construction sector as workers and drivers while selling drugs for a luxurious lifestyle. The police allege that the accused profited heavily from the illegal selling of ganja. Later on in their investigations, it turned out many of the drug traffickers were college students, young men and women.
The suspects were also reported to be providing narcotics to the youth in the Mandya and surrounding districts, and drug misuse among students and adolescents was increasing. Police also seized 20 kilograms and 640 grams of ganja at the raid in addition to vehicles and other illegal items.
Officials had estimated that the Rs 10 lakh worth of narcotics were confiscated in the illegal market. The case has also opened up an interstate narcotics supply chain that far surpasses the reach of major drugmakers. Police are guessing that the arrested accused is only one of a few operators involved in a sizable network of small operators, involved with sourcing drugs and distributing within Karnataka.
Even as state security personnel feel further investigation is needed to find these masterminds behind the racket, it has been conducted through financial transactions, so that the link between the illicit commerce networks can be shown. The gang’s relationship may also have been linked to organised drug suppliers in Bengaluru and other cities as well, officials are also examining.
The incident has shaken residents and parents throughout Mandya, mostly in connection with allegations that student pupils and youth were the targeted demographic of peddlers. Law enforcement authorities have been criticised: the citizens demand them to take a stand against anti-drug activity and to better educate the citizens against drug abuse.
Police officials vowed harsh retaliation against anyone associated with the network. Raids and search operations are expected to continue over the next few days, as detectives continue to dismantle the full supply chain connected to Odisha-Karnataka's drug route.
