How drug peddlers selling contraband to college students in AP, run business through phones, courier

West Godavari: The young drug peddlers of Andhra Pradesh are finding new ways of doing business. They sell drugs with just a phone call and receive their payments through digital wallets.

Three drug peddlers were arrested by the officials of the Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB), Bhimavaram. The three have been identified as Singudasu Ritvik of West Godavari, Mohammed Sahel of Kerala who was living in Bangalore, and Nigerian Peter Nwajako Chinweuba who was residing in Bangalore's East Tehsil. Another accused, Delvin of Kerala, is yet to be arrested.

According to the Bhimavaram Enforcement inspector V.V.V.S.N Varma, raids were conducted on 23 January and the teams seized five LSD stamps (1 gram), 1 gram MDMA (methamphetamine), five Ecstasy tablets, and 20 grams of marijuana from Ritvik in Bhimavaram. In the same case, another person, Mohammed Sahel, was arrested by the SEB on 25 January. According to the information received from Sahel, the SEB teams arrested the main accused, 32-year-old Nigerian drug smuggler Peter Nwajako Chinweuba on 27 January. He was produced before a Bangalore court on 28 January. After a transit warrant was issued, Peter was produced before a Bheemivaram court and sent to remand. He was shifted to Rajahmundry Central jail.

Drugs being supplied to college students

The SEB teams found that two of the arrested persons are students studying in Bangalore. They started out as drug consumers and later became peddlers, procuring drugs like MDMA, LSD, Ecstasy, and ganja from the Nigerian and supplying them to various people, especially students. "These drug peddlers mostly supply drugs to students or other drug addicts through mobile phones. Their business seems to be spread over various districts of Andhra Pradesh. The drugs are supplied through courier or private bus drivers," said Mr. Varma.

As most of the colleges have gone online due to the pandemic, Ritvik returned to his home in West Godavari with some quantity of drugs. He was caught by the SEB in Bhimavaram. However, the police are yet to ascertain more facts in this case.

Sources said there is a drug mafia targeting mostly college students in AP, Karnataka, Telangana, and other states. In Andhra Pradesh, many students from West Godavari, Guntur, Krishna, East Godavari, and other districts are allegedly getting addicted to drugs as drug peddlers are running an easy business through phones. Sachets weighing one or two grams are packed carefully and concealed in their trousers or included with other parcels and sent through private buses. Those sachets are later sold to students within the city limits.