Mangaluru, 26 July

An ambulance driver from Dakshina Kannada district was absconding after investigators linked him to an interstate MDMA trafficking network and accused him of using the emergency vehicle to transport narcotic drugs, police said on Sunday.

The accused, Jalil Baba, a resident of Belthangady, has been untraceable for the past eight days, according to a report submitted by the Mangaluru City Crime Branch (CCB) to a local court on Saturday.

On Saturday, the CCB arrested a man identified as Annappa Swamy alias Manu with MDMA, leading investigators to an alleged drug network operating out of Bagalkote district.

Acting on the leads, the CCB raided a lodge in Bagalkote on 15 July and arrested three persons. During the operation, police seized five kilograms of MDMA, valued at Rs 5 crore.

Among those arrested were Mohammed Alfaz and Mohammed Mustafa, both natives of Belthangady.

During interrogation, the arrested accused allegedly told investigators that they had been supplying narcotic drugs to Jalil Baba.