Hyderabad: The police arrested two inter-state drug peddlers, including a second-year BPharmacy student and a juvenile, on Tuesday night. The arrests were made by the Special Operation Team (SOT), LB Nagar zone, in collaboration with Hayathnagar Police, resulting in the recovery of 80 grams of heroin and other property worth Rs 50 lakh from the suspects.
Acting on a tip-off, the SOT and Hayathnagar police targeted the drug peddlers at Satya Parking Yard in Hayathnagar, where they were waiting for a customer on Tuesday night.
The apprehended individuals were identified as Ashok Kumar, 19, the pharmacy student, and a juvenile suspect (JCL), both natives of Jalore district in Rajasthan. During interrogation, they admitted they were addicted to heroin and later procured and supplied the substance illegally in the city, according to Rachakonda police commissioner G. Sudheer Babu.
The duo maintained contact with a local peddler in Rajasthan, acquiring drugs at a cost ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 per gram. They smuggled the drugs into the twin cities and sold them to consumers at a price ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per gram, Sudheer Babu said.
The arrested suspects confessed to transporting drugs from Rajasthan to the twin cities by concealing them in clothes in a private bus. They were caught at Satya Parking Yard. The police is searching for an absconding accomplice and trace their customers.
The police commissioner urged the public and students to be aware that procuring, selling, transporting, and consuming banned narcotics substances and drugs is a punishable offense under Section 31A of the NDPS Act, with potential imprisonment of up to 10 years. He encouraged people to assist the police in curbing the menace. The arrested peddlers were handed over to Hayathnagar police station, and the juvenile suspect was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board, subsequently being shifted to a Correctional Home. Accused Ashok Kumar was remanded to Cherlapally Central Prison.
