Five held for drug peddling in Hyderabad, goods worth Rs 63 lakh seized

Hyderabad: In various raids conducted by the Hyderabad Narcotics Enforcement Wing (H-NEW) and local police across Chilkalguda, Sanath Nagar, and Adibatla areas, five people were arrested for alleged drug peddling in separate cases. Contraband, vehicles, mobile phones and cash worth Rs 63.65 lakh were seized.

In the first case, an 18-year-old student was apprehended by the Chilkalguda police with 115 grams of MDMA worth Rs 11.5 lakh.

Police said that Sai Nikhil Yadav, alias Sai, from Balanagar, developed substance addiction during his college days. He procured drugs from a college senior, Aditya, via Instagram at lower rates and sold it to customers who contacted him through the social media platform. A case has been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

Aditya is absconding.

The second case is from Sanath Nagar where two individuals, including an interstate drug peddler, were arrested with 1 kg of hash oil worth Rs 12.75 lakh.

Simhachalam, 28, a welder from Srikakulam district, and Venu, 23, a driver from Kukatpally, sourced the drugs along the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border and supplied them to customers in Hyderabad.

Simhachalam has been identified as an interstate drug peddler, while Venu acted as his subordinate. Two mobile phones were also seized during the operation.

Police said that Simhachalam is a serial offender with multiple NDPS cases registered in Cyberabad and Sangareddy. Venu, too, was previously involved in a criminal case and came into contact with Simhachalam while in jail. Further investigation is underway.

The third case is from Adibatla, where narcotic substances worth Rs 39.4 lakh were seized during a raid. Two persons – Akshay A Patel, 35, a private employee from Injapur, and Babburi Aditya Vardhan alias Aditya, 25, a businessman from LB Nagar – have been arrested.

Police recovered 363 grams of ecstasy pills, 41 grams of ganja, four LSD blots, a two-wheeler, two mobile phones and Rs 50,500 in cash.

Investigators said Akshay allegedly turned to drug peddling after suffering financial losses in business and gradually built a local distribution network using courier services and encrypted applications.