Hyderabad: 14 held for ganja consumption; notorious IT corridor drug peddler also arrested

This follows the arrest of 14 others for similar offences on July 12.

Consumers from various professions

The individuals caught include event managers, marketing executives, software engineers, businesspersons, medical officers, and an unemployed youth, the EAGLE officials said.

All were attempting to purchase ganja when the task force intercepted them. After testing positive for cannabis, they were referred to certified de-addiction centres for rehabilitation.

Drug peddler supplying IT corridor held

In a separate operation, EAGLE teams arrested a major ganja peddler identified as Sandeep alias Sandesh (33), a native of Karnataka, on July 15. He was nabbed with 2.15 kg of ganja at Gachibowli.

Introduced to ganja by father

According to police, Sandeep was introduced to ganja use by his father. Later, he met Ahmed, another user in Yakutpura, who introduced him to Shabbir Shaik, a key supplier from Maharashtra. Ahmed took Sandeep to Parli in Maharashtra, where he learnt to procure ganja at lower prices.

Expanding Supply Network in Hyderabad

For the past five months, Sandeep has been travelling to Hyderabad nearly four times a month, sourcing ganja from Parli and selling it in the city for higher profits.

He built a wide customer base through referrals and used coded WhatsApp messages like “Bhai bachha aagaya” to inform buyers of his arrival. To avoid police surveillance, he exclusively used WhatsApp calls and shared drop locations via chat.

Main supplier absconding

Police said Shabbir Shaik remains absconding, and all consumers in Sandeep’s network are currently under EAGLE’s scanner.