Drug peddler held with 22 kg marijuana, firearm in Delhi's Badarpur

New Delhi, Oct 31 (PTI) A 32-year-old habitual offender was arrested with over 22 kilograms of marijuana and an illegal firearm in southeast Delhi's Badarpur, police said on Friday.

The accused, identified as Vikas alias Mante, a resident of Tughlakabad Village, was apprehended in the intervening night of October 29 and 30 while he was trying to flee during a police picket check near Badarpur border, they said.

Police were on night patrolling duty when they noticed a man carrying a white plastic sack coming from the Faridabad side around 2.15 am. When the man tried to escape, he was caught after a brief chase.

“On checking the sack, four transparent polythene packets containing a greenish substance suspected to be marijuana were recovered, weighing 22.17 kg in total. A pistol and two live cartridges were also found in his possession," a senior police officer said.

A case under the NDPS Act and Arms Act has been registered against the arrested accused at the Badarpur police station, the police said.

During questioning, Vikas confessed to peddling drugs to earn quick money and also admitted to his involvement in two chain-snatching incidents committed recently in the area.

With his arrest, police said they have worked out two cases of chain snatching in Badarpur.

“Vikas is a bad character (BC) of Govindpuri police station and has a long criminal history. He is previously involved in 30 cases of theft, robbery, snatching and under the Arms Act,” the officer said.

Further investigation is underway to trace the source of the narcotics and possible links to a larger supply network. PTI SSJ NB