On 21st March, a 34-year-old woman, identified as Anila Ravindran from Anchalimmoodu, was arrested by Bengaluru police on charges of drug trafficking. The woman was concealing narcotics inside her private parts, which were recovered during a medical examination.
According to media reports, she was intercepted by a joint operation of the Shaktikulangara Police and Kollam City Police’s special anti-narcotics task force. Officials said in a statement that she was travelling from Bengaluru in a car when she was flagged down near the Neendakara bridge. Despite signals from the police to stop, she tried to escape, prompting a chase.
Her car was intercepted by the police and around 90 grams of MDMA were recovered during the search. Fifty grams were found hidden in the vehicle and another 40 grams were recovered from her private parts during the medical examination.
Reports suggest that the accused had been trafficking MDMA to supply it to school and college students in the Kollam city area. Police said that she is a repeat offender with a history of being involved in drug-related activities. Police have seized the car and an in-depth investigation into the matter is underway to identify her supplier and network.
Is Karnataka becoming a hub of drug trafficking?
In recent years, cases of drug traffickers getting caught in Karnataka have increased exponentially. On 16th March, it was reported that Mangaluru police busted the biggest-ever drug cartel in the state, in which two South African nationals were arrested. Thirty-seven kilograms of MDMA worth ₹75 crore were recovered. The breakthrough came from information gathered by the police from an arrest made six months ago. In September last year, police had arrested a drug trafficker named Haider Ali in Pumpwell and recovered 15 grams of MDMA.
The investigation led to a Nigerian national named Peter, who was caught with MDMA worth ₹6 crore. Further investigation revealed links to an international drug syndicate that was using the air route between Delhi and Bengaluru to smuggle narcotics. The two South African nationals arrested by the police were identified as Bamba Fant and Abigail Adonis.
In May 2023, authorities intercepted a vehicle smuggling 23.25 kilograms of ganja from Visakhapatnam to Mangaluru and Kerala via Bengaluru.
In February 2023, 119 kilograms of ganja worth ₹35 lakh were seized from a fish transport vehicle. Four people were arrested. The drugs were sourced from Andhra Pradesh.
In January 2022, the NCB nabbed a Ugandan woman with drugs worth ₹1.5 crore. They were concealed in baby food cartons to avoid detection.
