UK national arrested for drug peddling at Hampi

A UK national has been arrested on charges of selling drugs to foreign visitors at the world heritage site of Hampi in Central Karnataka.

Acting on a tip-off, the Bellary police raided a lodge in Hampi and took Annie Derek, 51, into custody. The police also recovered 400 grams of brown sugar from him.

Though Derek confessed that he had bought the drug from Agra for his personal consumption and not for selling, the police has maintained that the UK national was handing over the drug filled in a cigarette to other visitors, particularly foreign tourists.

Hampi situated in Karnataka’s Bellary district was the seat of the erstwhile Vijaynagar empire in the fourteenth century. Tourists particularly foreigners flock to Hampi in large numbers throughout the year for see the ruins of the centuries old stone monuments. The UNESCO has declared Hampi as the world heritage site.

Derek, who had married a woman from Bapatla town of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, has been a regular visitor to Hampi for the last twenty years