HYDERABAD: In a coordinated interstate operation, the EAGLE Force, working with Hyderabad and Cyberabad police and assisted by local police, apprehended three persons in Goa, part of an interstate drug smuggling network that investigators believe catered to over 1,050 consumers in Telangana.
The accused have been identified as Priteesh Narayan Borkar alias Babu alias Khali, Basharath Ahmed Dhagga alias Bilal alias Jahan Dhagga alias Mansur Ahmed, and Tharun.
Officials said the operation involved technical intelligence gathering, surveillance and coordinated field action to trace absconding suspects and investigate drug supply networks in Telangana.
An EAGLE Force official told TNIE that investigators had identified a network supplying drugs to more than 1,050 consumers in Telangana and others in Andhra Pradesh. The figures are provisional and subject to verification, the official said.
Borkar was apprehended in Goa on October 12. Investigators said he operated from Anjuna and maintained a network of customers and sub-peddlers supplying drugs to Telangana and neighbouring states. He was brought to Telangana through the prescribed transit procedure for further questioning.
Borkar was previously booked in an NDPS case registered by Osmania University police in 2022, in which ecstasy pills, LSD blots and MDMA were seized. He is also named in cases registered at Ramgopalpet and Lalaguda police stations and is absconding in cases registered at Miyapur and Allapur. Investigators are examining his links with other suppliers and the movement of drugs from Goa to Telangana.
In a separate operation in North Goa, officials apprehended Dhagga and seized 13 LSD blots, eight ecstasy pills and around 100 grams of charas, estimated to be worth more than Rs 1.5 lakh. A case was registered at the Central Crime Station in North Goa.
According to EAGLE officials, Borkar and Dhagga procured contraband from Nigerian nationals and other suppliers for distribution to consumers. Tharun, however, is being treated as a consumer and was referred to a de-addiction centre, an official said.
The investigation is examining the roles of suppliers, intermediaries and consumers, along with the communication channels used to coordinate drug transactions, officials said.
