Bengaluru: A 35-year-old woman from Odisha was recently caught carrying methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) at a bus stop in Hebbal, leading police to uncover a drug network and recover more than 1kg of the drug.According to Hebbal police, the latest arrest was made on Sept 24 after they traced Banita Karan from Balasore district, who was residing at a co-living PG in Suddaguntepalya.A senior officer said Banita had been working as a manager in a PG accommodation for two years. For the last two months, she had been jobless. While she was working, she encountered a Nigerian national involved in drug peddling. She started working as a courier for him.The drug seized was sourced from Chandigarh. When she came near Indira Canteen on the service road at Ballari Road bus stop, she was caught, and around 1kg of MDMA, along with a vanity bag and a mobile phone, was seized.Earlier arrestsThe arrest was part of a continuing investigation into an interstate drug trafficking case registered in May, when eight accused, including three foreign nationals, were arrested and 17.4kg of MDMA was seized.Police teams traced other suspects and made a series of arrests in July and August. On July 8, three accused were arrested near Chikkabanavara railway station, and 6.5kg of MDMA and mobile phones were recovered. On the same day, police also arrested a Nigerian national in Delhi and seized another 3.4kg of MDMA. On July 9, police recovered 7.3kg of MDMA from a house in Bengaluru.The probe continued with police tracking the suppliers and their contacts. On July 29, an accused involved in supplying drugs was arrested in Kammanahalli. A total of 43.5kg of MDMA and Rs 17 lakh in cash were recovered in the case.
