Mangaluru police bust biggest-ever drug cartel in state, arrest two South African nationals
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Mangaluru (PTI): Mangaluru Police seized over 37 kg of MDMA valued at Rs 75 crore, the biggest-ever drug haul in the state, a police official said on Sunday.
Two South African nationals were arrested in Bengaluru in connection with this case, the official said.
Addressing a press conference, Mangaluru Police Commissioner Anupam Agarwal stated that the operation stemmed from an earlier arrest six months ago. In September, police apprehended one Haider Ali in Pumpwell, Mangaluru, and confiscated 15 grams of MDMA from him. Subsequent investigations led authorities to a Nigerian national named Peter, who was arrested in Bengaluru with MDMA worth Rs 6 crore.
Further probes pointed to an international drug network with links to traffickers using air routes between Delhi and Bengaluru, he said.
Acting on intelligence, the Mangaluru Central Crime Branch (CCB) police arrested two South African nationals -- Bamba Fant (31) and Abigail Adonis (30)-- upon their arrival in Bengaluru on March 14. The suspects were taken into custody in Neeladri Nagar, Electronic City in Bengaluru, the senior police officer said.
Authorities discovered MDMA concealed in their trolley bags, alongside four mobile phones, passports, and Rs 18,000 in cash.
Police sources indicate that the arrested individuals were allegedly supplying drugs to Nigerian peddlers operating in Bengaluru and other regions. Additionally, they are suspected of using forged passports and visas for travel.
The investigation is ongoing to trace the larger network behind the illicit drug trade, officials said.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
