Bengaluru, 17 Dec

A foreign national was arrested for allegedly running a drug racket and 12kg banned MDMA crystals worth an estimated Rs 24 crore were seized from her possession here, police said on Tuesday.

This was the largest drug seizure by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) unit of Bengaluru Police in the state so far, they claimed.

The arrest was made based on specific information about the woman suspect, who resided in TC Palya area within the KR Pura police station limits, police said.

Based on this information, on 13 December, the CCB team raided the place and arrested the foreign national woman who was involved in selling the prohibited drug, they added. "Narcotics Control Wing of the CCB team has successfully cracked an MDMA Crystal drug network. It is an international network. They have successfully recovered 12kg of pure white and yellow MDMA. The total value is approximately Rs 24 crore. This is one of the biggest recoveries in Bengaluru and Karnataka," said B Dayananda, Bengaluru Police Commissioner.

Narcotics Control Wing of the CCB received information that a foreign woman residing in TC Palya, under the jurisdiction of KR Puram Police Station, had set up a shop catering to the needs of African nationals by selling food and grocery items, he said.

"Alongside this, she was selling illegal drugs. After the CCB Narcotics team arrested her, they interrogated her, got the details, and seized 12kg of drugs. We are searching for the supplier,' he added.

According to him, during the investigation, it was found that they brought the banned drugs from Mumbai in soap packets, dry fish boxes, and so on. They supply to software engineers, foreigners, and others at higher prices here.

In total, 12kg of MDMA crystals, mobile phones and 70 Airtel SIM cards have been seized. A Mumbai-based woman was supplying the drugs to the arrested foreign national. "She has confessed that she was involved in making illegal money by selling drugs at higher prices. The suspect came to Bengaluru on a business visa five years ago, and now the visa has also expired. Further investigation is underway to identify the Mumbai woman, understand why they had 70 SIM cards, and determine where they were getting the drugs," he added.

A case under NDPS Act and Foreigners Act has been registered and further investigation is underway to nab the other foreign national woman involved in the racket, police said.