14 Caught Buying Ganja In Hyderabad IT Hub, A Couple Came With 4-Year-Old
An operation to bust a ganja distribution network in Hyderabad's IT corridor, Gachibowli, sprang a surprise when officials found that a couple had come to buy ganja with their 4-year-old child. Drug enforcement officials let the mother and child go, but the father tested positive for Ganja use.
Officials of the newly launched Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE) carried out the operation on Saturday and caught 14 people buying ganja. They have been referred to certified drug de-addiction centers for treatment and rehabilitation.
EAGLE Superintendent of Police Chennuri Roopesh told NDTV that they had been tracking Sandeep, a repeat offender from Maharashtra who sold ganja in Gachibowli locality. His customers are employees in the IT sector and other private sector staff.
Intelligence gathered by the unit indicated that the suspect transported approximately 5 kg of ganja in 100 packets, each weighing 50 grams. He sold each of these packets for Rs 3,000. He maintained a database of over 100 regular consumers, communicating through coded WhatsApp messages like "Bhai baccha aa gaya bhai" to let them know that he had arrived with fresh stock.
On Saturday, plainclothes officers from EAGLE positioned themselves near a bank, a spot often used for the exchange. Within two hours, they caught 14 people in the act of trying to buy ganja. All 14 tested positive for cannabis use in the on-the-spot urine drug test.
Officials were surprised to find that a couple had come to buy ganja with their 4-year-old son. The man tested positive for consumption, and his wife and child were allowed to go. In another case, a couple came to buy ganja. Both tested positive for ganja use.
Among those caught are an online trader, an architect, a sales executive in a real estate firm, an IT sector employee and a student. They have been referred to de-addiction centres.
Sandeep managed to evade arrest. EAGLE's teams are analysing WhatsApp communication logs, phone numbers, and other digital evidence seized from the consumers' phones to trace his supply network. Police are examining the confiscated database of over 100 customers to uncover the broader distribution chain. "We urge the remaining 86 individuals in the database to voluntarily seek de-addiction treatment before EAGLE initiates further action," the senior police officer said.
EAGLE officers say they have planned continued surveillance and targeted operations to cleanse the IT corridor from drug influence. The officers appealed to public, especially youth and students, to resist drugs and ganja and emphasised the rise in crime and anti-social activities linked to addiction.
The unit urged parents to monitor their children's activities and encouraged people with information on drug-related activities to contact the police or EAGLE's toll-free number 1908.
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