Bengaluru: City police seize narcotics worth crores, bust online scams, recover stolen assets

Bengaluru: The Bengaluru Police, under the leadership of Commissioner B Dayananda, unveiled a series of break-throughs during their weekly press briefing, showcasing the department’s relentless efforts to tackle crime across the city.

A significant achievement was made in combating drug trafficking, with city police arresting 11 individu-als and seizing a staggering 190 kg 160 grams of marijuana valued at Rs. 1,21,71,000. Alongside the drugs, officers confiscated a truck, two cars, and ten mobile phones used in the operation, underlining the organised nature of the illegal trade.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Narcotics Wing of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) apprehended a foreign woman in TC Palya for dealing in MDMA crystals. This operation resulted in the recovery of 12 kg of the narcotic, valued at Rs. 24 crore, alongside a mobile phone and 70 SIM cards. Authorities are pursuing another foreign national reportedly supplying the drug from Mumbai, further widening the scope of this investi-gation.

Cybercrime continues to pose a formidable challenge, with the CEN Police Station, North Division, ar-resting ten individuals involved in an online fraud scheme. These suspects, operating under the names Brandywine Group and ES Brandwine Group Marketing, lured unsuspecting victims through stock in-vestment ads on social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp. The investigation led to the sei-zure of 51 mobile phones, 27 debit cards, 108 bank passbooks, 480 SIM cards, two laptops, and other incriminating items like rubber stamps, GST records and QR codes. The scam defrauded victims of Rs. 88.83 lakh, showcasing the growing sophistication of online fraud.

House thefts and burglaries were also on the radar, with Bayappanahalli Police arresting a caretaker re-sponsible for a burglary at a complainant’s residence. This operation led to the recovery of 157 grams of gold ornaments valued at Rs. 11.5 lakh. Similarly, Koramangala Police apprehended an individual in-volved in multiple house and vehicle thefts, recovering stolen items including gold, silver, and two-wheelers valued at Rs. 9.5 lakh. Authorities emphasised the importance of vigilance, urging citizens to exercise caution while hiring domestic help and securing their homes and vehicles.

Efforts to combat vehicle theft yielded substantial results. Hebbal Police arrested two individuals linked to 20 cases of two-wheeler theft, recovering vehicles worth Rs. 13 lakh. In a parallel operation, Ma-hadevapura Police nabbed two more suspects, retrieving 15 stolen vehicles valued at Rs. 12.8 lakh. Un-claimed vehicles remain under investigation as authorities work to locate their rightful owners.

The Central Crime Branch tackled a high-stakes land scam, apprehending three individuals for forging property documents to facilitate illegal sales. Seized materials included various forged legal documents, and efforts are ongoing to apprehend an accomplice still at large.

In another fraud case, the Organised Crime Wing (West) of the CCB arrested three suspects for duping individuals with false promises of Railway Ticket Collector jobs. The scam netted over Rs. 80 lakh from unsuspecting candidates, and investigators are pursuing another individual linked to the crime.