Mangaluru police arrest two South Africans, ₹75 crore worth MDMA seized in Bengaluru

Mangaluru police arrest South African women with ₹75 crore worth of MDMA, largest drug seizure in Karnataka.

The Mangaluru police have arrested two South African women and seized 37.878 kg of synthetic narcotic drug MDMA, worth ₹75 crore, which according to police was brought by a domestic flight from Delhi to Bengaluru.

This is the highest value of drugs seized by the Karnataka police so far, according to Mangaluru Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal.

Addressing press persons here on Sunday (March 16, 2025) he gave names of the accused as Bamba Fanta alias Adonis Jabulile, 31, a native of Agbovillae Africaanse Sub Division and Abigail Adonis alias Olijo Evans, 30, a native of Lieu De Naisance, Pretoria, both in South Africa.

Mr. Agrawal said the arrest of two women was the fall out of further investigation by Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths of Mangaluru into the arrest of Hyder alias Hyder Ali, an alleged drug peddler, in 2024, from whom 15g of MDMA was seized. Based on the information from Ali, the CCB sleuths arrested alleged drug peddler Peter Ikedi Belonwu, a Nigerian, in Bengaluru, from whom they recovered 6.248 kg of MDMA.

During the questioning of Belonwu, the CCB sleuths got information about South African women flying down from Delhi to Bengaluru and delivering MDMA to fellow drug peddlers in Bengaluru. The two women were reportedly flying down with MDMA every fortnight, delivering the drugs and flying back to Delhi within 24 hours of landing at Bengaluru airport.

“For the last six months, our CCB team was closely tracking movement of the two South African women,” the officer said.

After a tip off about arrival of the accused in the early hours of March 14, a team of CCB sleuths reached the Bengaluru international airport. Soon after landing at the airport around 12.30 a.m. on March 14, the two accused booked a taxi to move around the city and deliver MDMA.