Bengaluru: NCB busts drug syndicate in city, arrests four

Bengaluru: A drug syndicate that was purchasing the contraband through 'darknet' and made payments through bitcoins was busted with the arrest of four members including the mastermind, the Narcotics Control Bureau said on Tuesday. The NCB said the arrest was made possible by the NCB-Bengaluru team following detailed analysis after a parcel from Netherlands, containing 750 MDMA (popularly known as ecstasy)tablets, was seized in July.

All the syndicate members-- the consignee K Pramodh, mastermind Fahim and their associates A Hashir and S S Shetty---were arrested on September 24, the NCB said in a statement.

Darknet refers to the deep hidden internet platform that is used for narcotics sale and other illegal activities by using the secret alleys of the onion router to stay away from the surveillance of law enforcement agencies. Fahim learnt the concept of purchasing drugs online (darknet) through a web series and started purchasing bitcoins and using it ordered drugs from Darknet,the NCB said.

He used to deliver consignments at various addresses in India. "He further sold the drugs to students of various colleges in Udupi (coastal district headquarters town of Karnataka)," the NCB said. The NCB had earlier arrested here three people hailing from Kerala who were allegedly supplying drugs to actors and singers in the Kannada film industry. The state CCB police is investigating the alleged drug abuse among bigwigs, including those in the film industry.

About 15 people have been arrested in the drugs case. A few others wanted in the case are at large including former minister late Jeevaraj Alva's son Aditya Alva, the police said.