HYDERABAD: In the ongoing crackdown against the network of contraband drugs suppliers in the city, sleuths of the Prohibition and Excise department on Tuesday seized another 100 LSD blots and arrested four persons, including the alleged kingpin. Two days ago, the department’s Task Force seized around 700 blots and nabbed three people.
The suppliers’ clientele ranges from schoolchildren to wealthy private employees. The seven persons arrested on Tuesday include Nikhil Shetty, an entrepreneur, Ravi, an MBA degree holder and owner of a Yoga Studio, Kundan Singh who operates a Car Rental company, and Aman Naidu, a BTech graduate working with an IT firm. Nikhil Shetty is said to be one of the kingpins.
Director of the department’s Enforcement wing, Akun Sabharwal, said that after the Saturday midnight raids, they were on lookout for two more people who were absconding. “From Nikhil Shetty, we learned about Ravi. Through their records, we caught more people,” Sabharwal said.
The operation has not ended as officials were on hot pursuit in out-skirts of the city till Tuesday mid-night. With each raid, officials are learning about efficiency of the suppliers in carrying out the illegal trade as apart from the ready-to-consume blots, they found two vials filled with LSD.
City’s young getting high
The recent drug bust in the city brings to fore a disturbing trend catching up with youngsters. Lately, increasing number of school and college going students have taken to drugs including LSD and MDMA. While counselling seems to be the only way to help minors.
Sometimes, stunted mental growth is one of the ill-effects. Michael (name changed), a degree student at a prominent city college gets his share of drugs once in a fortnight from a friend of his, who is a drug peddler. “My friend sources it from other states and I buy from him at a lesser price, around `3,000 per dose. Drugs gives me clarity of thought that makes me differentiate between good and bad,” he said. The symptoms a drug-addict exhibits can be known by their changes including throwing tantrums and dilated eyes.