Mangaluru North police arrested the woman on charges of supplying MDMA to youths and students across Mangaluru city. The arrested woman has been identified as Naseema, a resident of Laila village in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada district. She is 42 years old.

The investigation began after a drug consumption case was reported at Mangaluru North police station on November 1. During that investigation, police gathered information about a woman who was allegedly supplying drugs to the accused in the consumption case. Officers then began probing the wider drug supply network around her.

A tip-off from a consumption case

Acting on the information, police raided a flat near Pumpwell-Ujjodi, where the woman was staying. The raid led to the seizure of 153 grams of MDMA from the flat. Police valued the seized drug at Rs 15.30 lakh.

The arrest marks the second MDMA seizure in Mangaluru in a matter of days, after police arrested a man at Padil earlier in the week with a smaller quantity of the drug. The latest seizure is far larger, and police believe the woman was supplying the drug to young people and students across the city.

What police found in the flat

The flat near Pumpwell-Ujjodi was the centre of the operation. Police said the woman had been staying there and was supplying MDMA from the premises. The 153 grams seized in the raid is a commercial quantity under the law, and the case is being treated as a supply case rather than a simple possession case.

Investigators are now trying to trace the chain through which the drug reached the woman and the buyers to whom she allegedly supplied it. The consumption case registered on November 1 gave police their first lead, and the follow-up work led them to the flat and the seizure.

A wider network under the scanner

The case also underlines how drug supply networks in the city are reaching young users. Police said the woman was allegedly supplying MDMA to youths and students, a pattern that has worried investigators in recent months. The arrest is part of a continuing crackdown on drug peddling in Mangaluru and the wider Dakshina Kannada district.

What happens next

Further investigation is under way to identify others involved in the supply chain. Police have not yet said whether more arrests are expected, but the probe into the network behind the seized consignment continues.