Drug Bust: Congress veteran’s son nabbed with LSD in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: A senior Congress leader’s son was caught in possession of drugs in Hyderabad on Monday. The accused identified as Chanakya has sourced the banned substance from Jammu & Kashmir for a birthday party and a New Year bash. Police seized LSD strips weighing over 820 grams from him.

Swinging into action on a tip-off the team, Commissioner's task force Hyderabad city police nabbed Chanakyar at Amberpet late Sunday night. On searching, they found suspicious material in his possession, which was later found to be LSD.

Inquiries revealed that he had procured the banned drug from his contacts at Jammu and Kashmir. While he was handed over to Amberpet police station for further inquiry, teams are on the lookout for those, who had supplied the drugs to Chanakya. Further investigation is underway.

Influential people behind Hyderabad's drug problem

Not to long ago, prominent pub owner M. Rahul Reddy was arrested in a drug case. The man was exposed when the Ameerpet Excise department checked the Pay-TM transaction of a drug dealer. The cops debunked a network of purchasers including few prominent names in the elite Hyderabad circle.

During an investigation, when the money transactions were checked, the sleuths of excise found Rs 1 lakh transaction meant for drug purchase by M. Rahul Reddy. The owner is a common friend to some of the biggies in the city and faced arrest.

Sources told NewsMeter that the pub owner wasn’t a drug abuser, but he purchased drugs on behalf of another party who are suspected to be abusers. Transaction made from the owner’s account got him into a soup. The case dates back to June 2019 and has been kept unwrapped and as purchaser hails from influential clout. Also, within the enforcement agencies, officers only in the ‘need-to-know’ loop were familiar with this case.

In June, the Excise Enforcement officials of Hyderabad arrested a couple and seized 9-gram cocaine and Rs 3 lakh cash from them at Banjara Hills area near Saibaba Temple here. The police also seized a red coloured Maruthi Swift car, which was used in the transportation of cocaine and one swiping machine and four mobiles phones. The accused has been identified as Shaik Fahad (37) a native of Nellore and his wife Salima Rabbiul Shaik (27), residents of Brindavan Colony in Towlichowki. The couple was also allegedly involved in transportation and sale of cocaine, police said.

“Fahad’s phone was confiscated and when his Pay TM transactions were checked, we found the highest paid amount was close to a lakh, suspected for cocaine purchase. These online payments led to exposure to his client list, added a source. However the pub owner’s arrest has not been confirmed by the police or Excise sleuths.

Talking about the drug abuse incident in the city, a senior officer with the Hyderabad Taskforce said, “I can say drug abuse has reduced to 20 per cent from what it was in 2017. With the local police, Excise department and anti-narcotic unit cracking down on peddlers, drug peddlers are diverted to other cities. In 2018, over 10 international peddlers were deported from the city. On July 16th too, the local has cracked down on illegally staying foreign students”.

The officer further added, “Pub owners have been warned not to encourage drug abusers or any entry of drugs into the pub. If found, owners will also be booked as a separate party.