Udupi: Police have arrested nine people in two separate raids conducted under Shirva and Udupi Town police station limits and seized ganja, methamphetamine, cash, vehicles and other materials worth a total of Rs 16,01,584.

Eight people were arrested in the Shirva operation, while one person was arrested in a separate raid in Udupi city. Police said some of the accused in the Shirva case have previous criminal cases registered against them in different police stations.

Eight arrested in Shirva raid

Acting on credible information received by Kaup Police Station PSI Shubhakara, police conducted a raid at Bhadramma Road in Padubelle at around 4.35 pm on September 22.

Eight people who were allegedly possessing banned narcotic substances for sale and profit were detained during the operation.

Police seized 1,354.28 grams of ganja valued at Rs 67,714 and 32.74 grams of methamphetamine worth Rs 30,960.

The operation also resulted in the seizure of two cars valued at Rs 6 lakh and Rs 4 lakh respectively, along with a scooter worth Rs 25,000.

Nine mobile phones valued at Rs 93,300, two digital weighing machines worth Rs 500 and Rs 75,010 in cash were also recovered.

The arrested accused have been identified as Alnaz alias Mohammed Anas, Mohammed Altaf, Stanley Sandeep, Shakeeb, Mohammed Faizal, Imtiaz, Ajay Kumar and Santhosh Devadiga.

A case has been registered at Shirva Police Station, and PSI Anil is conducting the investigation.

According to police, the accused told investigators that they had allegedly brought the ganja from Uppala in Kerala for sale.

Police also said some of the arrested persons have criminal cases registered against them at various police stations.

1.659 kg ganja seized in Udupi

In a separate operation, Udupi Town police arrested a 31-year-old man and seized 1.659 kg of ganja valued at Rs 83,000.

The police also recovered Rs 1.26 lakh in cash, a digital weighing machine and other materials from the accused.

Acting on credible information received by Udupi Town Police Station Law and Order PSI Bharatesh Kankanawadi, the police obtained permission from the Superintendent of Police before conducting a raid at a rented house on Third Cross, Vadiraaj Road.

The raid was carried out at around 12.10 am on September 23.

The accused has been identified as Srivatsa K.G., 31, a native of Sagar taluk in Shivamogga district. Police said he was residing in a rented house on Vadiraaj Road and had allegedly stored the ganja with the intention of selling it.

A case has been registered at Udupi Town Police Station, and PSI Prakash is continuing the investigation.

Several Shirva accused have previous cases

Police said several of the eight accused arrested in the Shirva case have previous cases registered against them in Udupi district.

Stanley Sandeep has one case registered at Manipal Police Station.

Mohammed Faizal has three cases, including one each at Malpe, Karkala Rural and Manipal police stations.

Imtiaz has eight cases registered against him. These include three cases at Udupi Town Police Station, one murder case at Brahmavar, one case at Malpe and three cases at Manipal.

Ajay Kumar has three cases, including a robbery case at Udupi Town Police Station and cases registered at Manipal and Shirva police stations.

Santhosh Devadiga has two cases related to alleged ganja consumption registered at Udupi Town Police Station.

Police teams conduct coordinated operations

The raids were conducted under the guidance of ASP Ishita Gupta and Udupi Sub-Division DySP Belliyappa.

Udupi Town Inspector Mahesh Prasad P. and Kaup Circle Inspector Ajmath Ali led the respective operations.

The Shirva operation was assisted by PSI Anil, Kaup PSI Shubhakara, ASIs Sudesh and Sundaragowda, Head Constables Manjunath and Harsha, and police personnel Arun, Nagaraj, Sharan and Kishore.

Personnel Praveen and Deekshith from the CNN Police Station and Vishwajith from Manipal Police Station also assisted the operation.

The Udupi Town operation was assisted by PSIs Bharatesh Kankanawadi and Prakash, along with police personnel Basheer Ahmed, Anand Ganiga and CICO staff.

Police said investigations into both cases are continuing.