Hyderabad: Four persons, including three brothers, were arrested here on Thursday, August 13, for allegedly peddling ganja, and as many as 92 consumers who bought the contraband from them were identified, officials of Telangana’s anti-narcotics unit—EAGLE Force—said.
An Inspector suffered a bleeding injury in his hand when one of the brothers attacked him with a sharp object like a screwdriver after the EAGLE Force (Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement) raided their residence at Balanagar based on information, a senior official said.
The accused also let loose their pet, a Great Dane dog, to attack the team; however, they managed to escape, he said.
Ganja, air gun, vehicles also seized
The four accused—three brothers and the wife of one of the accused—were arrested during the anti-narcotics operation, and 14.5 kg of ganja and an air gun, besides seven two-wheelers, were seized from them, the official said.
During the raid, one of the brothers jumped from the terrace of his residence to an adjacent building and snatched a mobile phone from a person and recorded a video threatening that he would jump down, alleging that he was being framed in the case.
He then jumped from a second-floor building and was finally caught by the EAGLE team, the official said.
The accused were found to be involved in selling ganja for over two years, which they procured from Odisha.
Dead drop delivery model
After getting payment from consumers through an online app, the accused supplied the contraband through the “dead drop” delivery model.
“They adopted the dead drop method, where ganja packets were left in secluded areas, and pictures and locations were shared with buyers to evade detection,” the official said.
As many as 50 teams carried out anti-narcotics enforcement and identified 92 consumers who used to buy ganja from the accused, the official said, adding that out of them 74 tested positive for ganja consumption.
Nearly Rs 25 lakh balance was found in the bank account of one of the accused, and it is suspected to be the proceeds from the sales of contraband since January this year, the official further said.
