Belagavi: A notorious gang of 13 drug peddlers from Mumbai and Belagavi, including a woman, were nabbed by Belagavi police and drugs worth several lakhs were seized. A Mumbai-based drug peddler, Sushila Ponnaswamy, was running the racket with the help of locals. Sushila used to supply brown sugar and other drugs like Panni and Gajani as per demand and the gang has been operating in Belagavi for the past six years.
The police are yet to investigate the areas being covered by Sushila's network, which they expect may also be spread to other cities in the state. Acting on a tip-off, Belagavi police arrested Sushila at Sion, a suburb in Mumbai, along with drugs in her possession. The police later nabbed the other 12 members who ran her network in Belagavi.
A large number of students from various institutions in Belagavi were regular customers. A small packet of Panni costs between '300 and '500. According to Belagavi Police Commissioner D.C. Rajappa, police teams are carrying out regular crackdowns on drug peddlers in the city.
Those arrested from Belagavi have been identified as Yasin Shapuri from Azad Nagar, Shivaji Shinde from Sadashiva Nagar, Tabrez Andewale from Ghee Galli, Shakir Niami from Ujwal Nagar, Salim Makandar from Sadashiva Nagar, Yuvraj Sarnobat from Kangral Galli, Chirag Khedda, Saibaz Balekundri from Ujwal Nagar, Ijaz Mulla and Wasim Dalwai from Shahu Nagar. During the arrest the gang was in possession of 800 packets of Panni and preliminary investigation revealed that these packets were being sold to students on a daily basis. For the past one decade cases of drug trafficking has been on the rise in Belagavi and despite efforts from police they have not be able to root out the menace.
For drug peddlers, Belagavi is a transit point to supply their contraband to neighbouring Goa and other places. In 2007 an international drug racket was busted and three Nepalese women were arrested.
