Doctor among 4 arrested in narcotics cases, drugs worth ₹2.3 crore seized in Bengaluru

The accused works in a private hospital and, police claim, was addicted to drugs. Their investigation revealed that he had sourced the narcotics using a Telegram link and paid the supplier in bitcoins.

The anti-narcotics wing of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) arrested a Bengaluru-based 30-year-old ophthalmologist and seized 42 gram of hydro ganja worth ₹3 lakh that he had smuggled from the Netherlands through an international courier company. 

On being alerted by the courier service, a CCB team raided an apartment at Yeshwantpur on February 24. They arrested the ophthalmologist — Nikhil Gopalkrishan — and seized the narcotics from him. 

The accused works in a private hospital and, police claim, was addicted to drugs. Their investigation revealed that he had sourced the narcotics using a Telegram link and paid the supplier in bitcoins. This was allegedly not the first time that the doctor had procured narcotics through this method, but was caught this time because the courier company alerted the police. 

In another case, the police arrested 40-year-old Kalu Chukwa of Nigeria and seized MDMA crystals, 1,273 ecstasy tablets and a mobile phone from him, worth ₹1.8 crore in total.

The accused had come to Bengaluru on a business visa in 2023, and was residing at Soladevanahalli. He would source drugs and sell them to his customers in Bengaluru.

CCB busted another duo peddling drugs in Soladevanahalli. They arrested Emmanuel Kwasy, 32, from Ghana, and Chainasa Cyprilan Okoye, 38, from Nigeria, and seized 500 gram of MDMA crystals worth ₹51 lakh from them. The accused had come to India on tourist visas. They started peddling drugs that they sourced from Mumbai. The accused had been arrested earlier in a narcotics case. After their release, they shifted their base to Soladevanahalli in Bengaluru and continued peddling drugs.

In all, police seized drugs worth ₹2.3 crore in the last one week, Police Commissioner B. Dayananda informed.