Karnataka - Belgaum   

International drug racket busted

Staff Correspondent

Belgaum: The Belgaum police have busted an international drug racket engaged in smuggling “hashish”. The racket had Mumbai, Belgaum, Bangalore, Goa and Chennai as transit points. Three persons of Nepali origin were arrested on Saturday and they allegedly had links in several countries, including Malaysia.

The names of the arrested were given as Arjun Gurang, 24, Mayapun, 28, and Bikram alias Vikram, 20. The police seized 10.30 kg of hashish commanding Rs. 10.30 crore in international market. Nepali currency worth Rs. 1,290 was seized from them. All the three accused, who were from Dang district in Nepal, were produced before the court and have been remanded in judicial custody.

The husband of Mayapun is said to be living in Malaysia and police suspect that he too could be involved in the racket. Although the police had been able to establish that the racket had links in Nepal, they were yet to ascertain whether it had any direct links with Akash Balachandra Desai gang from whom the police had seized 52 kg of hashish, a revolver and vehicles on May 28. On June 24, sleuths of the Karnataka Anti-Narcotic Cell arrested Mohammed Iqbal Abdul Rehman Siddiqui, 39, and Basavaraj Chandrashekhar Jagnur, 39 (both from Belgaum district), involved in smuggling heroin and seized 2 kg of the narcotic worth Rs. 2 crore. Superintendent of Police Hemant Nimbalkar said investigations were in progress from several angles to ascertain whether these cases detected in Belgaum had any direct or indirect links. The police officers of Tilakwadi, who were working on a tip-off with descriptions of three persons, including a woman, arrested Arjun, Mayapun and Bikram carrying black air bags at 8.30 a.m. near Hotel Utsav on Belgaum-Goa Road.

While Arjun and Mayapun travelled together and arrived here from Nepal via Delhi, Udaipur in Rajasthan, Pune and Kolhapur; Bikram moved alone and joined them in Belgaum.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Sringeri seer to visit Belgaum
International drug racket busted
13 bridges submerged in Belgaum
Anti-social elements warned

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu