Nigerian and Nepali men among 11 held in Bengaluru police narcotics crackdown

The police in Bengaluru said on Tuesday that they arrested 11 people, including two foreigners and eight locals, at Yelahanka, Adugodi, Bharathinagar, Jalahalli, and Pulakeshinagar in connection with drug trafficking networks operating across the city.

The Adugodi police arrested Baljit Singh from Uttar Pradesh and Arjun Joshi, a Nepalese national, for allegedly supplying heroin in the city. The police said Joshi, who initially consumed drugs, began selling heroin after sourcing it from Baljit Singh, who procured it from Punjab. The police said they recovered 162 g of heroin worth Rs 55 lakh and three mobile phones from the two men.

The Yelahanka police arrested Samuel Ikkena, 44, a Nigerian national, for allegedly running an MDMA racket under the guise of a clothing business. The police said Ikkena arrived in India in 2012 on a business visa. He previously sold garments in Delhi and Mumbai before moving to Bengaluru last year. He allegedly procured MDMA near Bannerghatta for Rs 50,000 and sold it at higher rates through a structured illegal network. The police claimed to have recovered 2 kg of MDMA crystals valued at Rs 2 crore from him.