A group of people, including police officers and four arrested individuals, two with their faces covered, are at a press conference.
Hyderabad: Four individuals, including two interstate suppliers allegedly involved in a drug supply network, were arrested on Monday, April 28.
Hyderabad Narcotics Enforcement Wing (HNEW), along with Nallakunta police, seized hydroponic ganja (OG) weighing 1380 grams, 44 LSD blots, 250 grams of magic mushrooms, Rs 10,640 in cash, six mobile phones, two two-wheelers, and other packing material, all valued at Rs 1.40 crore.
The accused have been identified as Harshvardan Shrivastava, B Srinivasa Rahul, Abhishek and Dhawal.
According to reports, Harshvardan Shrivastava, an architecture graduate from Ayojan School of Architecture and Design in Pune, abandoned his internship to make quick money through drug trafficking.
He reportedly learned about drug procurement and distribution through Reddit forums and began sourcing OG from the darknet community ‘Dread Market’ using the encrypted messaging platform Signal. Harsh purchased one ounce of OG for Rs 15,000 and sold it for Rs 25,000, moving the drugs via courier services like DTDC, Sri Thirupathi, and Sri Anjaneyulu Couriers.
The payments were reportedly made through Hawala and cryptocurrencies, and he employed VPNs to evade police surveillance. Investigators revealed that his drug operations funded his lavish lifestyle.
The other accused, B Srinivasa Rahul, is a Chennai-based IT engineer who began consuming ganja in 2015 and gradually transitioned into a peddler and transporter. Rahul sourced OG through Snapchat and sold it in Chennai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad.
Local peddler Abhishek, a software engineer, procured OG from Rahul and magic mushrooms from Harsh through Signal App and made payments via Hawala channels. Abhishek supplied drugs to other consumers in Hyderabad, including his associate Dhawal, a licensed architect from Secunderabad.
Dhawal started selling drugs after his architectural earnings proved insufficient. He purchased OG from Abhishek and Rahul at Rs 1,600 per gram and sold it for Rs 2,000 per gram to maintain a high-end lifestyle.
Based on credible information, police arrested all 4 accused, and a case has been registered under sections 8(c), read with 20(b)(ii)(B), 22(c), 27(b) of the NDPS Act-1985.
Further investigation is ongoing.
This post was last modified on April 29, 2025 7:03 pm