Based on a tip off, the HSR Layout police swooped down on a drug peddler and seized narcotics worth Rs 50,000. In an elaborate procedure, the lone accused was arrested after all the procedures were followed by the police like getting independent people to verify that the accused possessed drugs on him.
Cannabis or weed
The police operations began at 10.30am and went on till 1.15pm near NIFT in Sector 1 on December 15. The accused is Samsuddin, a 28-year-old resident of Mangammana Palya. The cops found 1050 grams of ganja and Rs 500 cash on him at the time of arrest.
After the tip off and official approval from ACP Madiwala, sub inspector M Neekakantan (51 years) called designated local residents (pancharas) and five constables landed at the place and stopped their Hoysala vehicle a little distance away from the spot to observe the proceedings. And true enough, the group saw one person selling a narcotic substance to the general public.
The cops surrounded him and unearthed his identity. He had small plastic sachets in his pocket. In addition, the cops noticed that he had kept weed in a plastic cover on a tree nearby. When asked, the accused admitted that they were cannabis (ganja or weed). A person from Kerala was selling it to him for a cheaper price. The accused Samsuddin apparently told the cops that he would make a powder of the weed and make small packets of 30 grams and sell them to his customers, including college students.
Since the procedure required a gazetted officer to vet the physical inspection of the accused, KM Vijay, accountant, Bescom, HSR Layout division was brought by the cops to the spot. In front of the Bescom employee, the accused was body searched around 12pm and brought to the police station at 1.15pm.
The accused has been charged under the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. This rule prohibits any person from producing, possessing, buying, selling, transporting, storing or consuming any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance. If convicted, the accused could be in jail for 10-20 years and may have to pay fine of Rs 1-2 lakh.