In a significant anti-drug operation, Karnataka police intercepted two vehicles at Mittakodi in Kurnadu village, Ullal taluk, seizing ganja estimated to be worth Rs35 lakh. The case was registered at Konaje Police Station.
City Police Commissioner Anupam Agarwal revealed that four suspects were apprehended:
Moydheen Shabbir (38) from Kasaragod, Kerala
Mahesh Dwarikanath Pandey (30) from Maharashtra, residing in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh
Ajay Krishna (33) from Alappuzha, Kerala
Jeevan Singh (35) from Jind district, Haryana
Alongside ganja, police confiscated five mobile phones, fish crates, and other materials used for smuggling.
The accused sourced ganja from Andhra Pradesh and transported it through Bengaluru and Mangaluru to illegally sell it in Kerala. Police suspect a larger network is involved and investigations are ongoing.
Background checks revealed Moydheen Shabbir has 12 prior criminal cases in Kerala, including cattle theft, assault, and murder. He was arrested in 2023 for smuggling 23.25 kg ganja and spent over 18 months in jail before recent bail.
Mahesh Pandey faces two ganja smuggling cases in Andhra Pradesh. Ajay Krishna has six cases, including robbery, assault, drug trafficking, and bank fraud. Jeevan Singh is linked to another smuggling case in Andhra Pradesh.
The operation was conducted under the guidance of Commissioner Agarwal and supervised by DCPs Siddharth Goyal and K Ravishankar. The CCB team was led by ACP Manoj Kumar Naik with assistance from Inspectors and ASIs.
