HYDERABAD: Exposing the nexus between Tollywood and the drug mafia, police on Thursday arrested two brothers of Telugu film actor Ravi Teja and their friend at Banjara Hills while they were striking a deal to purchase drugs from a Ugandan national. The Ugandan was also arrested and more than 50 gm of drugs were seized from the four.
According to sources, a special police team of West Zone DCP Stephen Ravindra had been keeping an eye on the Ugandan national for the past two days after he was found moving suspiciously in the locality.
On Thursday night, they laid a filmi-style trap near the Hyderabad House on Road No 3, Banjara Hills where the foreigner was waiting for his customers: Ravi Teja's brothers Raghu Babu and Bharat and their friend, Naresh, said to be the son of a city-based businessman. The trio came in a black Ford Panther (AP 13 L 8999) to the eatery and each reportedly purchased three 1 gm packets of cocaine. When the trio was about to leave, the police team pounced on them and seized nearly 48 gm of the drug from the Ugandan, Cheema Clement alias Victor.
The car was registered in the name of Ravi Shankar Raju alias Ravi Teja.
Raghu Babu was reportedly involved in a drunken driving case earlier.
Ravi Teja was shooting in North India for his upcoming film when his brothers were arrested. The detainees were taken to the Banjara Hills police station. Sources said Victor was selling the drug for Rs 3,000-4,000 per gm. The 48 gm drugs seized from his possession would be worth more than Rs 2 lakhs.
Victor reportedly came to the city on a 20-day tourist visa in 2007 and stayed on, illegally, at SB Colony in Trimulgherry.
The crackdown came in the wake of the recent arrest of several Ugandan and Nigerian nationals in the city for drug peddling.