Kerala criminal, 2 associates arrested in Bengaluru in drug case, 318 kg of ganja worth Rs 3 crore seized
The Bengaluru police said Zameer Khan rented a car on the Zoomcar app and used it to travel to Odisha and Andhra Pradesh from where ganja was procured and transported back to Bengaluru
4 min read
When the suspects were interrogated they revealed that Zameer Khan booked an Ertiga car with a Telangana registration through the Zoom app in Bangalore and transported 318 kg from Orissa/Andhra Pradesh state to Bengaluru with Achu Santhosh.
The Bengaluru police Thursday arrested three alleged smugglers including a Kerala native and seized 318 kg of ganja from them.
Identified as the prime accused in the drug haul case, Achu Santhosh, 28, the Kerala native, is wanted in multiple cases of stabbings, robberies, and smuggling. He hails from the Kottayam district and the Kerala Anti-social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA), 2007, has been invoked against him thrice.
His two accomplices – a husband-wife duo identified as Zameer Khan, 29, and Reshma Zameer Khan, 28, from Bengaluru – have also been arrested.
“On the basis of concrete information that ganja was being brought into the city from Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, the Govindapura police were able to intercept and seize 318 kg of ganja that was being transported in a car. The value of the seized material is about Rs 3.25 crore,” said B Dayanand, Bengaluru police commissioner.
“He (Santhosh) came recently to Bengaluru and befriended a car driver and convinced the driver and his wife to join the drug trade,” the Bengaluru police commissioner added.
The police said Zameer Khan rented a car on the Zoomcar app and used it to travel to Odisha and Andhra Pradesh from where ganja was procured and transported back to Bengaluru.
The police received a tip-off that Santhosh and his accomplices had brought a large quantity of ganja into the city in a hired Ertiga car from Odisha/Andhra Pradesh.
The police kept a watch on the trio and found that Reshma Khan allegedly received five packets of ganja near the Kaifa Masjid in HBR Layout on Thursday.
The police subsequently raided Reshma Khan, Zameer Khan and Santhosh and found the huge consignment of ganja.
“The first accused, Achu Santhosh, has about 15 criminal cases registered against him in various police stations of Kerala state, out of which four cases are registered under the NDPS Act and the said accused has been arrested under the Kerala State Goonda Act for a total of three times from 2019 to 2022,” the Bengaluru police said on Friday.
The police further said that they were trying to find out the source of the ganja, and also the network through which it was meant to be distributed in Bengaluru.
The Bengaluru police commissioner said that the large consignment of drugs was brought to Bengaluru by the trio in anticipation of big profits through sales ahead of the New Year.
2 foreigners arrested for peddling MDMA crystals, cocaine
The Bengaluru police on Friday also reported the arrest of two foreign drug peddlers from whom MDMA crystals, ecstasy pills and cocaine valued at Rs 3 crore were seized.
The two foreigners were residing in a house at the Puttaswamy Layout in Hesaraghatta and the CCB narcotics squad received a tip-off of their involvement in the sale of drugs. Following a raid, the police found 1.5 kg of MDMA crystals, 202 gram of cocaine, and 23 ecstasy pills.
“The two foreigners came to India on a medical visa five years ago and bought drugs like MDMA crystals, cocaine and MDMA ecstasy pills at low cost from African acquaintances residing in Mumbai, Delhi and sold the contraband to college students, IT/BT employees at prices ranging between Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 per gram,” the police said.
The duo have pending drug cases against them in Mumbai and Hyderabad and were out on bail, the police said.
You May Like
