Seven Police teams mobilised to hunt down drug peddlers

Mysore/Mysuru: The shocking discovery of an MDMA drug manufacturing unit on Mysuru’s outskirts has triggered one of the city’s most extensive anti-narcotics crackdowns in recent years.

Since Sunday evening, City Police Commissioner Seema Latkar has personally spearheaded sweeping raids across multiple neighbourhoods, targeting suspected drug peddlers and users.

Simultaneous operations were carried out at 59 locations — including godowns, garages, PG hostels and residences of 35 individuals with prior drug records — spanning Mandi Mohalla, Lashkar Mohalla, N.R. Mohalla, Nazarbad and Udayagiri. The raids uncovered marijuana sales, led to one arrest, and resulted in cases filed against 26 individuals for drug consumption.

By Monday, Commissioner Latkar continued leading fresh raids, intensifying checks on vehicles, shops, bars and residential zones. All suspicious vehicles, including two-wheelers,  were stopped at entry points to the Narasimharaja Constituency and they were thoroughly checked for drug possession.

Roadside tea stalls and those located in inner areas of Narasimharaja Constituency, parks alleyways and other suspected hotspots remained under strict surveillance as Police teams questioned locals and tracked habitual offenders.

“This is not a one-time effort — it will continue with full force,” Seema Latkar told Star of Mysore late last night, confirming that over ten individuals have already been booked for cannabis use.

To break the network fueling Mysuru’s narcotics trade, seven Police teams — comprising two DCPs, ACPs, Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors — have been formed. These teams will work overnight, raiding homes of repeat offenders and seizing narcotics in coordinated strikes.

The crackdown follows Saturday’s high-profile raid at a shed in Belavatta near the Ring Road service lane, where an illicit drug production hub was unearthed. The incident has not only rattled the city’s reputation for peace and safety but also sparked political outrage, with calls for stringent, sustained policing.

Citizens, alarmed by the scale of the drug mafia’s operations, have demanded that enforcement should not taper off after initial raids but continue until narcotics sales and consumption are completely eradicated from the city.