HYDERABAD: A doctor pursuing his MD at Gandhi Medical College was arrested on Tuesday by excise authorities for allegedly selling drugs. The accused, John Paul, a native of Tenali in Andhra Pradesh, was staying in a rented house at Musheerabad.
Based on a tip-off, the Special Task Force (STF) raided his residence and seized drugs worth about Rs 3 lakh. A case has also been registered against three others — Pramod, Sandeep and Sharath — in connection with the racket. During the raid, officials recovered 26.95 grams of OG Kush, 6.21 grams of MDMA, 15 LSD blots, 1.32 grams of cocaine and other substances.
According to the excise police, Paul sourced the drugs from three friends, the other accused, who sent the contraband from Bengaluru and Delhi using the ‘dead drop’ method, in which both parties avoid physical contact and instead drop and collect the drugs from a pre-decided location. Paul allegedly sold the drugs from his house to both known and unknown customers.
STF team leader K Pradeep Rao said that Paul had been storing and consuming the contraband in his rented house. The other three accused are absconding, and a manhunt has been launched to trace them.
11 arrested for selling, consuming drugs
Gachibowli police on Tuesday arrested 11 persons for allegedly possessing, selling and consuming narcotic substances. The police seized 32.14 grams of MDMA, 4.67 grams of ganja, six mobile phones and other items. Acting on a tip-off, police raided SM Luxury Guest Room Co-living & PG Hostel at TNGOs Colony on Monday and apprehended two persons, Teja and Pakanati Lokesh Reddy.
Based on their confession, four others — Vennela Ravi Kiran alias Bannu, Peddamantoor Harshavardhan Reddy, Manne Prashanth and Shajeer Motungara — were arrested from Hotel Night Eye in Madhapur. Two Nigerians were also arrested, though their names were withheld for probe purposes, said Madhapur ADCP N Uday Reddy.
During further probe, several consumers were identified and taken into custody. Police said the accused were found in possession of narcotic substances, which they were consuming and selling to known and unknown persons.
