Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru
Mangaluru, Mar 5: In two separate operations, the Mangaluru city police arrested six individuals on Wednesday for allegedly selling prohibited narcotics. The police recovered 53.87 grams of MDMA, 163.20 grams of hydroweed ganja, and 1.155 kg of regular ganja from the accused.
Four held at Pandeshwar lodge
In the first case, personnel from the Mangaluru South (Pandeshwar) police station arrested four persons at a local lodge. The arrested have been identified as Mohammed Syed Afridi (26) and Ahmed Ali Arshan (22) from Koteshwar in Udupi district, Maqsood Saag (23) from Balmatta, and Felix P Joseph (20) from Kottayam, Kerala.
The police seized 53.87 grams of MDMA, 103.20 grams of hydroweed ganja, and an MG Hector car used for the crime. City police commissioner Sudhir Kumar Reddy stated that a case under the NDPS Act has been registered at the South police station.
Two arrested near Bunder
In a second operation, the Mangaluru North (Bunder) police arrested two individuals near Green Park ground for attempting to sell drugs. The accused are Edel Roch (33) from Kankanady and Aaron Vishal Lasrado (18) from Kadri Mallikatte.
The police recovered 60 grams of hydroweed ganja, 1.155 kg of regular ganja, and a Maruti Swift car from them. A separate case has been registered at the North police station.
International link and modus operandi
During the investigation, it was revealed that Sandeep Shetty, a Mumbai resident working as a manager in a Dubai hotel, was allegedly smuggling hydroweed ganja into Bengaluru via air. He had reportedly hired Edel Roch to transport the contraband from Bengaluru airport to specified locations.
According to the commissioner, Edel Roch and Aaron Vishal Lasrado supplied the narcotics to Afridi and Arshan through Maqsood Saag in Bengaluru. The duo then transported the MDMA and ganja to Mangaluru in their MG Hector car.
The first four accused had rented a room at Classic Comfort Lodge to sell the drugs to students and young adults when they were caught. Meanwhile, Roch and Lasrado were apprehended while selling drugs from their Swift car near the Green Park ground.