Interstate peddlers used delivery apps and hired execs to supply drugs, held

BENGALURU: Five interstate drug peddlers who supplied narcotics in parcels of medical kits and birthday gifts have landed in police net.
Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths arrested Sagar Mehta, Sukhjeet Singh, Mahabali Singh Kushawa from Delhi, and Vishal Kumar Singh and Himanshu Thakur from Bihar, all in their mid-20s. Drugs such as hashish, charas, cocaine, LSD strips, MDMA tablets and ganja worth over Rs 2 crore were seized from them.
The accused lived in PG accommodations in Whitefield and Marathahalli and purchased drugs through the darknet, police said. They used delivery apps and also hired their own delivery executives to supply drugs. City police commissioner CH Pratap Reddy said the accused also advertised on a free online marketplace app with the tagline: “If you want to earn respect with money and also willing to do anything for it-reach/contact me.” When job aspirants contacted them, they would brief them that they ran a courier service as well as an on-demand delivery app and needed part-time workers.
Police are yet to figure out the number of persons they hired and whether the delivery boys knew what they were carrying. Reddy added the accused had taken PG accommodations in other major cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, where the delivery boys working for them lived.
Joint commissioner of police (crime) Raman Gupta said the authorities have frozen five bank accounts connected to the suspects and seized Rs 2.7 lakh from them. “The gang has been active in the city for the past 10 months and it looks like it is their first visit to Bengaluru. Also, looking at their dealings, we strongly suspect they are active drug peddlers in other cities. We will find out more in the coming days,” he said.
Sleuths said the accused mostly accepted money online. “All the monetary transactions between the accused and the drug consumers happened online. In many cases, the accused dispatched drugs wrapped in birthday gift covers, envelops with seasonal greetings, and tiny medical kits,” an officer said.