Bengaluru: Kothanoor, Banaswadi, K.R. Puram, Rammurthy Nagar, Hennur, Indira Nagar and Sudgunttepalya are the hotspots where a variety of narcotic drugs are sold which range from marijuana to cocaine, nicotine to brown Sugar, afeem to hashish.
The drug cartel is run mostly run by African nationals, who arrive in the city on student and business visas. They are helped by their agents, who sell smaller quantities in areas like M.G. Road, CMH Road, Old Madras Road, Church Street, TC Palya Main Road, Wheeler Road and Horamavu Junction, said a police officer who is part of the narcotics control wing in Central Crime Bureau (CCB).
Another police officer said that after the recent, intense crackdown, drug peddlers are spilling the beans about their networks and how and where narcotic substances are traded. “The dealers get ganja from the suburbs like Hoskote, Mysuru Road, Banaswadi, Electro- nics City, White field, HSR layout and Madiwala and sell it to college students and others.”
Schools, colleges their main target
A senior police officer told Deccan Chronicle that once the agents get drugs, they target specific areas where student population is high. The key areas they target are Jayanagar, Chandra Layout, Vijayanagar, Raja rajeshwari Nagar, Hosa- kerehalli and nearby colleges. The buyer and peddler meet and disperse within minutes after the transaction.
Code words
The drugs are exchanged mainly near paan shops, bakeries and other petty business establishments located near colleges. The code for the 5 gm packet of ganja – ‘One Puff’, ‘Maal’, ‘Stuff’, ‘Baby’, ‘Boom Shankar’, etc.
Drug trail
Drug consignments from countries like Mynmar arrive in Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Mumbai and Goa. From there, agents easily transport it to Karnataka by trains, buses and freight vehicles.
Ganja is supplied by train from Guntur, Kurnool, Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, Hosur, Krishnagiri and Odisha borders.
Ganja farming has been reported from Western Ghats, Chamarajanagar, Mysuru, Kolar and Kodagu. The carriers use private buses, freight vans and vegetable transporting vehicles to bring drug to teh city.
Goonda Act for drug dealers?
Alarmed by the rising drug menace in the city, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwar had commented that Bengaluru is in danger of becoming an Udta Punjab and had announced that drug peddlers would be booked under the stringent Goonda Act, but no official circular has been brought out yet.
As the growing drug menace in Bengaluru has become a matter of grave concern, the city police have been conducting regular raids across the city. On Saturday, the city police from Whitefield, East and Northeast division arrested 107 African nationals who had overstayed in the city and seized 650 gm of ganja, 60 gm of cocaine and 10 gm of LSD and arrested of six drug mules.
In October last year, the Central Crime Bureau (CCB) launched a toll-free number, 1908, for citizens to give information to the police on drug peddling.
“We have received over 100 calls. We are also getting information from Whatsapp and other social media platforms. Majority of the callers complained about rampant drug abuse near schools and colleges,” said a police officer.
Besides, the helpline number, the Bengaluru police in association with educational institutions have been creating awareness on the ill-effects of drug abuse among youth.
Many residents have joined hands with the police to combat the menace. The department has also adopted several measures online to create awareness.
