VISAKHAPATNAM: Continuing the crackdown against drug peddlers, the Task Force sleuths of Visakhapatnam City police on Sunday arrested a person for possession and sale of synthetic drugs. The accused was procuring the contraband through online friends using Instagram, the police said. The accused, Girish Teja Naidu, was trading the synthetic drugs at Gajuwaka and surrounding areas.
Commissioner of Police Ch Srikanth said the Anti Narcotic Cell conducted a drive in the city to nab those dealing with drugs. The police seized 63 LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) blots and a mobile phone from the accused.
Srikanth said that Teja Naidu, who used to consume drugs, was selling LSD to recover financial expenses, which were used for his medical treatment after he met with an accident. While the original price of the synthetic drug is around Rs 600, the peddlers are selling it for a whopping Rs 2,000.
The police are investigating to identify others involved in the chain. Srikanth said the Anti Narcotic Cell, so far, has filed 94 cases and identified 293 people involved in drug peddling, out of which 217 were arrested.
A lot of these peddlers are identified as daily-wage labourers and private employees. These synthetic drugs are being provided by sellers from Bengaluru, Goa, Hyderabad and Odisha.
All accused involved in drug peddling are using the vanish mode option on Instagram to communicate with each other. The vanish mode enables users to make sent messages disappear. Srikanth explained that awareness programmes on the ill-effects of drugs will be conducted in various colleges in and around the city.