Bengaluru drug seizures hit new high in quantity, value in 2022, police data reveals

The total quantity of drugs seized in Bengaluru in 2022 was 3,913 kg, more than five times the 764 kg seized in 2018. The total value of drugs seized in the city in 2022 was Rs 89.53 crore, the highest ever

The government in a written reply to a question asked by AAP MLA Umesh Makwana said 75 kilograms of heroin have been seized from the port in the last two years. (Representational/ File)

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The quantum of drugs seized by the Bengaluru police in the city as part of a crackdown on drug users and peddlers in 2022 saw a five-fold increase as compared to the drugs seized five years ago, according to official data collated from the Bengaluru City Police.

The total quantity of drugs seized in Bengaluru in 2022 was 3,913 kg, which is a marginal increase from 3,912 kg seized in 2020 when the police began a crackdown on drug usage in the IT capital by following leads given by celebrity drug users in the city. The increase in seizures in 2020 and 2022 in Bengaluru is five times the 764 kg seized in 2018.

Apart from the usual high quantities of ganja (3,746 kg), the city also witnessed a big spike in the quantum of other drugs (hashish, MDMA, LSD) seized in 2022. The quantum of other drugs seized rose from 49 kg in 2021 to 167 kg in 2022.

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“The total value of drugs seized in the city in 2022 was Rs 89.53 crore. This is the highest value of drugs ever seized in the city,” Bengaluru Police Commissioner C H Prathap Reddy said earlier this month at an annual crime statistics presentation made to the media.

In 2022, a total of 4,005 people were arrested in drug cases in Bengaluru, including 557 peddlers, compared to 5,741 in 2021, 3,673 persons in 2020, and 1,270 in 2019.

According to data for drug cases handled in the city by the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch alone, drugs worth Rs 39 crore were seized by the specialized crime unit in 2022 compared to Rs 25 crore in 2021, over Rs 7 crore in 2020, Rs 3.14 crore in 2019 and Rs 3.24 crore in 2018.

While over 3,000 kg of ganja has been seized in Bengaluru consistently over the last three years, the quantity of synthetic drugs and hashish seized in the city has increased by six times in the last three years. While a total of around 26 kg of synthetic drugs and hashish was seized in 2020, as much as 167 kg of these drugs were seized in 2022.

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“It seems like some of the synthetic drugs are being made locally or procured on the dark web. This is the reason for the spike in the seizure of these drugs,” a police source said.

“In 2022, for the first time, proceedings were initiated for the seizure of the properties of two drug dealers. In the coming days, such measures will be enhanced,” police commissioner Reddy said earlier this month.

In 2022, the Bengaluru police also invoked the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988 – it allows preventive detention of drug dealers for a year without bail – against three drug dealers. In 2020 and 2021, the PIT NDPS norms were invoked against two drug dealers each, with three of the dealers being foreigners.

Table:

Year	Total quantity of drug seized in kg	Value of drugs seized by Crime Branch (in rupees)
2018	764	3.24 crore
2019	1053	3.14 crore
2020	3912	7.71 crore
2021	3631	25.20 crore
2022	3913	36.31 crore

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