Wayanad: The Sulthan Bathery police arrested a Tanzanian national, Prince Samson (32), the leader of a drug racket based in Bengaluru, on Monday. The arrest followed the seizure of 94gm of MDMA  from Shefeel, a native of Malappuram, at the Muthanga checkpost here on February 24.

During a routine investigation at the check post, Sulthan Bathery sub-inspector Sobin and his team confiscated the drug from Shefeel's bike. During interrogation, he revealed that the drugs had been obtained from Prince Samson.

Samson, who initially came to Bengaluru to study Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) at a private institution, later set up his own MDMA production unit with the help of other Tanzanian nationals. During a raid at Samson's residence, the police found 100gm of powder, four mobile phones, and several routers used by the racketeers to maintain contact with agents. The powder has been sent for forensic testing.

"We tracked Samson's bank account details, and in one of his accounts, we found Rs 80 lakh," said Wayanad Superintendent of Police Taposh Basumatari. "It was challenging to trace his whereabouts. There is a well-organised network of smugglers in Kerala. Drugs are dropped at specific locations, later collected, and then sent to recipients," Taposh said.

Investigations are ongoing to apprehend others involved, with further efforts focused on analysing data from Samson's phone.