Hyderabad, Aug 26 (IANS) The Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE), a specialised unit of Telangana Police, has busted a drug racket in Mahindra University here and arrested four accused, including a student of the university.
Fifty students are under investigation for drug consumption.
The sleuths of EAGLE also seized 1.15 kg of ganja (cannabis) and 47 grams of OG Weed.
Officials said the EAGLE team cracked down on a major interstate drug peddling racket that was supplying narcotics to university students in Hyderabad.
Acting on credible information, a raid was conducted on Monday at Shivalayam Colony, Suraram, Jeedimetla. The operation resulted in the arrest of four accused and the seizure of drugs along with drug packaging material, a weighing machine, and multiple mobile phones used for trafficking.
EAGLE said in a statement that during the investigation of the Malnadu Restaurant case busted last month, they found that two parcels emanating from a Nigerian in Delhi were delivered to a varsity student named Dinesh on two occasions.
The investigations also revealed that one more student, Bhaskar, made two payments to Nick, a Nigerian, through an ATM cash deposit. One student was making the payment, and the other was receiving the parcel. They received four MDMA pills on two occasions and consumed them along with three other friends at Quake Arena Pub. Pavan had provided the phone number of Nick, who supplies all types of drugs through couriers from Delhi. The same Nigerian had provided drugs valued at Rs 1.3 lakh and Rs 80,000 on two occasions to Annanamaneni Surya, the main accused in the Malnadu case.
EAGLE teams then fanned out around the university campus and started collecting intelligence from the security guards and students, and came to know that a student who used to stay in the hostel and later shifted to a house outside the campus is selling drugs.
The investigators identified two students, and after checking their houses, contacts, bank accounts, and their financial transactions, alerted the University authorities. On the basis of payments made through banking channels, the EAGLE identified some 50 students who might have been consuming drugs. Investigations revealed that the accused had set up a well-structured supply chain connecting interstate suppliers, local peddlers, and university students.
Drugs were procured from Delhi and Karnataka’s Bidar, smuggled into Hyderabad through courier and transport networks, and then pushed into Mahindra University through student distributors. The probe further established that at least 50 student consumers were regularly buying and using drugs from this network. Legal action will follow against all of them under the NDPS Act.
According to EAGLE, 21-year-old Nevelle Tongbram, a student and native of Manipur, is the main handler. He procured OG Weed from Delhi contacts, arranged delivery through courier parcels, and stored the consignments in his rented flat at Suraram.
Ambati Ganesh, 24, a resident of Jeedimetla, was in charge of distribution in Hyderabad. He repackaged consignments into 4-gram packets and sold them at inflated prices to students and local buyers. He also built connections with local peddlers for secondary supplies.
Boosa Shiva Kumar, 26, a marketing employee in Jeedimetla, was the interstate supplier who travelled to Bidar to procure bulk consignments of ganja.
Mohd. Ashar Jawed Khan, 21, a student of Mahindra University and originally from Delhi, was the principal campus-level distributor who, along with Nevelle, supplied narcotics to university students. He also independently sourced consignments from Gurugram and Delhi using India Post courier.
Each ounce (28 grams) of OG weed was purchased from Delhi for Rs 30,000 and sold to fellow students at Rs 2,500 per gram. One gram of OG Weed goes into two cigarettes. Each student was spending Rs 2,500 every day. Inside Mahindra University, the accused specifically targeted students. Jawed Khan played the role of a trusted peer distributor, collecting orders, delivering packets inside hostels and at private gatherings, and collecting payments digitally.
The investigation also revealed the role of students, Bhaskar and Dinesh (both BBA students at Mahindra University), who acted as intermediaries for synthetic drugs. They established contact with Nick, based in Delhi, who was supplying MDMA pills.
The racket was not limited to ganja alone but also had active links to international suppliers through Nigerians like Nick. The accused built a two-pronged network: OG Weed through courier from Delhi and Bidar, and MDMA pills through foreign-controlled networks operating in India.
EAGLE also stated that ADC of the University never passed a faint suspicion to the local police. There is no checking of the hostels by the university authorities.
During the last year, EAGLE came across many institutions and colleges where the drug culture exists and is a cause for great concern for society and the nation. Successful raids were carried out at the Symbiosis College, the Osmania General Hospital (OGH), the Guru Nanak Engineering College, the Culinary Academy of India, Kundanbagh, the Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology (CBIT), the IIIT Basara, the JNTU Jogipet, the Medicity Medical College, the ICFAI, and the Osmania University.
–IANS
ms/vd