Bengaluru: Home minister G Parameshwara Tuesday informed the legislature that the state police have arrested 47 foreign nationals and 4,747 drug peddlers in the last three years in drug cases. Of these, only 13 are kingpins for drug supply.The govt claimed it seized as much as Rs 653 crore worth of drugs during the same period, with as much as Rs 250 crore worth of them being burnt.He added that as late as last night, 350 kilos of ganja were seized, which arrived from Tirupathi to the town of Malavalli in Mandya district.Responding to a question raised by BJP MLA S Suresh Kumar on the increasing number of drug cases in and around schools and colleges in the state, Parameshwara said the arrests show the intent of the state govt to rid Karnataka of the drug menace.“However, cases have not been filed against the 47 foreign nationals under the narcotics acts as they cannot be deported from the country. As a result, on purpose, we are filing cases on overstaying in the country and sending them back home,” said the home minister.Parameshwara said as of the previous year, as many as 371 foreign nationals were deported and as of this fiscal, 298 foreigners have been deported from Karnataka, a majority of them being involved in drug cases.The home minister even added that the police have till date, in the last three years, reached out to as many as 45 lakh students through their outreach programmes in schools and colleges.“We have also begun random testing of students in colleges to identify if any of these institutions are seeing a high number of drug users,” he said, adding three strikes would mean recommendation for cancellation of the colleges of their affiliations.
