Bengaluru scientist, Air Force officer arrested; drugs worth Rs 230-cr seized

October 5, 2016

Bengaluru, Oct 5: An Indian Air Force (IAF) officer and a Bengaluru-based scientist have been arrested after multi-state raids that have exposed an international ring dealing in drugs like Ecstasy. Around 220 kg of ready-to-use amphetamine worth Rs. 230 crore have been seized.

The Air Force Wing Commander was caught in Nanded in Maharashtra yesterday, apparently on his way to Goa from Hyderabad. Over Rs. 7 lakh cash, five mobile phones and allegedly incriminating documents were found on him. He is believed to be one of the main suppliers in the network to make and deliver amphetamines, which are potent nervous system stimulants.

Posted in the Directorate of Information Technology in Delhi, the officer had reportedly been tracked for weeks both by the Narcotics Control Bureau and the Air Force intelligence wing. More officers are under surveillance, say sources.

Hyderabad, say officials, was the base where amphetamines - used in several party drugs - were manufactured at a leased factory. The drugs were allegedly trafficked mainly to countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

Sources say Venkat Rama Rao, a research scientist, and his wife were key members of the syndicate. Mr Rao and the Air Force Wing Commander had been classmates and allegedly resumed contact when the officer was posted in Bengaluru.

The raids were carried out on Friday.

Comments

Very bad .this is isolated incident .I see many Muslims making silly comments and linking armed forces .one person by name suresh.speaks and questions the Integrity of our armed forces. If you get infected with virus ,do you kill yourself ? No right .you will take anti biotics so that infection is addressed .vande mataram...inshallah our Indian armed forces emerge victorious against evil designs of pak .love you Indian army

This is how terrorists enter our teritorry

inidan miltary force supplying drugs to pakistan

They used air force property to do their illegal business....they should be punished very harshly....if it was not caught they would have killed a lot of innocent people....

Guess, Col Purohit was able to bring RDX from Army for Malegao & Samjotha express blast, obviously Air Force officer able to airlift any drugs to our country. Bhakts are quiet after reading the name.

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Elusive bamboo shrimp resurfaces in Mangaluru estuary after 70 years

News Network

December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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