Major cocaine haul in Hyderabad ahead of New Year

In the largest ever haul of cocaine since Telangana was formed, a Madhapur special operations team, on Thursday, seized 183 grams of cocaine and 44 ecstasy pills worth Rs 26 lakh.
For representational purposes
For representational purposes

HYDERABAD: As the city gets ready to welcome a New Year, police are finding that party animals are stocking up on hard drugs well in advance. Top officials are keeping a close watch on both peddlers as well as prospective buyers and acting immediately on any information received. 

In the largest ever haul of cocaine since Telangana was formed, a Madhapur special operations team, on Thursday, seized 183 grams of cocaine and 44 ecstasy pills worth Rs 26 lakh after they arrested two software employees at their flat in Ramky Towers, Gachibowli. The duo, Sravan Kumar and Charan Teja, both aged 24, had one gram of cocaine each on their person which they had purchased from an Arabic tutor named Ashraf Baig, 37. 

Acting on a credible tip-off about cocaine consumers, Madhapur police raided the flat of the techies. 
While Charan Teja is from Prakasam district in AP, Sravan is from Bachupally. 

Cyberabad Police Commissioner Stephen Raveendra said, “During interrogation, Charan and Shravan revealed the tutor’s name and confessed that they had purchased the drug from Ashraf.  The tutor, who is a resident of Tolichowki, sold each gram for Rs 14,000. The ecstasy pills cost Rs 1,500 each.”

Receiving a tip-off from the two accused, a team rushed to Tolichowki and nabbed Ashraf Baig and seized 181 grams of cocaine apart from 44 ecstasy tablets.

Ashraf would always travel by bus to avoid police checks. He never took a flight or train where security checks have increased manifold. He was confident that he could bring his booty to the city through bus journeys, Stephen Raveendra elaborated.

Sub-organisers and peddlers in the city limits are procuring the narcotic substances outside of Hyderabad and selling it to customers at double the rates. Peddlers in Goa appear to be the prime suppliers. 

‘Accused sourced drugs from Goa’

The CP said: “Ashraf revealed that he sources the drugs from Goa from a Nigerian national named Zude. Police teams have been deployed to hunt down the main supplier, Zude, from Goa”

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