HYDERABAD: An Aero Space Engineer from the United States, who has reportedly worked with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center earlier, was arrested on Wednesday in Hyderabad on charges of possessing narcotic drugs.
Anish Dundoo (29) has been living in Hyderabad for the past three years after incubating a startup in the city. He was found in possession of 16 blots of LSD procured from darknet sites when he was nabbed by the state task force of the Enforcement Wing in the Telangana Prohibition and Excise Department.
Based on Anish's information, the sleuths also arrested one Ritul Agarwal(26). Agarwal is a BBA from ICFAI business school and has been taking care of his family's steel business. According to officials, both used to order psychotropic drugs from darknet sites paying bitcoins or crypto currency.
With Wednesday's arrest, the total number of persons arrested in the last 10 days in connection with peddling drugs in Hyderabad has touched 12.
Anish and Ritul reportedly met at a party in the city. Earlier, officials had said that it was difficult to keep track of people who bought narcotics from dark web as the package delivered through couriers. In the case of Anish, the police caught him by analysing the call data of people who were earlier nabbed by the excise department sleuths.
Investigation into Anish's activities revealed that he accessed darknet site 'Lunacy' at least 8 times in the last couple of months and ordered various quantities of narcotic and psychotropic substances.
Officials found out that Anish ordered five ecstasy pills (green ecstacy) and 2 grams of MDMA on May 17. He also ordered 10 blots of LSD in the last week of May. Further, he ordered two grams of cocaine and 100 ecstasy pills (pink), 10 grams of MDMA, 6 grams of Cocaine and 50 ecstasy pills (green).
Anish, according to officials, stated that these substances were delivered to him by courier bearing Netherland markings.
D Anish, as per his LinkedIn profile, is an American national who went to Doon School, Dehradun. He pursued Bachelor's degree in Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical/Space Engineering from University of Cincinnati (2007–12) and is also pursuing an MBA from HEC Paris (2017-). The profile also says Anish worked as a "Scientist - Collision Analyst" with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center between December 2008 and 2009.