‘Drop location’ method that poses severe challenges to enforcement against narcotics gaining popularity among peddlers in Bengaluru

Dealer holds A Little Bag Of Drugs
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Drug peddlers in the city, especially foreign nationals, are increasingly adopting the elusive “drop location” method to hoodwink enforcement agencies, sleuths from the Anti-Narcotics Wing of the Central Crime Branch (CCB), Bengaluru, said. 

The “dop location” method involves a peddler placing the narcotics consignment at a place, usually hidden from public view, sharing its photo and geolocation to the client over instant messaging apps, and taking money online. 

Peddlers usually choose a tree or a bench in a park and keep the drug parcel and click the photos and share the live location with the customer on WhatsApp. On receiving the message, the customer will go to the spot and pick up the contraband and pay the peddler online. In this way they avoid suspicion and undue attention of the police. 

Using this method, peddlers have been selling drugs to their clientele without ever coming into direct contact with them. Peddlers are also not caught in possession of the narcotics. Moreover, this pushes the entire operation online, posing serious challenges for enforcement, sources said. 

For instance, Lakshminarayana K., police inspector, ANW, has filed a complaint with the CCB against a foreign national, who was found placing MDMA drug packets at a vacant site in Kengeri and sharing the drop location and photograph to his customers on WhatsApp. The accused is said to be roaming around on a two-wheeler and peddling drugs using this method. Weeks after the complaint, he is yet to be nabbed. 

“The communication for buying and inquiring about the drugs also takes place through WhatsApp calls and chats which is impossible for the police to track. The mode of payment is also online, making it tough for the police to establish the operation of the network,” a senior police officer said. 

The “drop location” method is not entirely new. In November 2021, the CCB busted a gang of five youths on the charge of peddling drugs through this method and recovered MDMA and ganja worth around ₹10 lakh.