Heroin, ganja worth Rs. 23.61L seized from interstate drug smuggling gang
The gang members have a history of offences and they had been arrested earlier in different cases
By Newsmeter Network Published on 6 May 2022 11:06 AM GMT
Hyderabad: The sleuths of the commissioner's task force, west zone, busted an inter-state drug smuggling gang and arrested four persons. They seized 225 grams of heroin and 28 kg of ganja worth Rs. 23.61 lakhs from them.
The arrested persons have been identified as Chand Shahjada Sayyed (43) of Mumbai, Shaik Abdul Alam Quadri (40) and Shahed Kamal (41) of Hyderabad, and Shaik Khasim (34) of Prakasam district in AP. Two others, the kingpin of the gang Mahesh and ganja cultivator V. Ramesh, are absconding. The police seized 28 kg ganja worth Rs. 3.36 lakh and 225 grams heroin/brown sugar worth Rs. 20.25 lakh. They also seized a car used to transport the ganja.
The gang members have a history of offences and they had been arrested earlier in different cases. In 2010, Chand Shahjada Sayyed was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Mumbai, in a drug case. In 2018, Shaik Abdul Alam Quadri was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence for transporting Dubai currency. Shaik Khasim was arrested in 2018 in an NDPS case.
Shaik Abdul Alam Quadri used to run a business selling Osmania biscuits in Hyderabad and other states. While supplying biscuits to Mumbai, he befriended Chand Shahjada Sayyed, a drug peddler. Quadri informed Chand that he intended to sell ganja in Mumbai and that he was looking for a mediator. Chand agreed to sell ganja in Mumbai. In the meantime, Quadri established a ganja network with Shaik Khasim, a ganja supplier from Paderu mandal in Visakhapatnam. Khasim, along with his associates, used to purchase ganja from cultivator V. Ramesh and bring it to Hyderabad by train and deliver it to Quadri for Rs. 8,000 per kg.
Chand and his associate Mahesh started a drug business in Mumbai. The former informed Quadri that he would supply heroin for Rs. 1,100 per gram in exchange for ganja. Quadri agreed and started transporting ganja to Mumbai and getting heroin to Hyderabad. He sold the contraband to his friend Shahed Kamal for Rs. 2,500 per gram.
On 5 May, the west zone task force team received a tip-off and apprehended four members of the gang within the limits of Kalapathar police station.
