Hyderabad: Wing Commander G. Rajasekhar Reddy of the Indian Air Force who was arrested by Narcotic Control Bureau officials at Nanded, was produced before a court in Ranga Reddy and was remanded to judicial custody on Wednesday.
Police officials revealed that Reddy and the main suspect, Bengaluru-based scientist Venkat Ramana Rao, were childhood friends. They had been manufacturing and smuggling drugs since the last two years.
At the time of his arrest, Reddy, who is posted with the Directorate of Informa-logy office of the Western Air Command at New Delhi, was carrying Rs 7.5 lakh in cash, five mobile phones, and a document containing the chemical formula for manufacturing Amphe-tamine drugs.
NCB officials questioned another armed forces official in connection with the case. They also arrested one Mula Ramamurthy and his brother Ravi Shankar Rao from the parking lot of Sadvika Hotel in Miyapur.
In the remand report submitted in court, NCB officials said the duo were helping the main suspects and were waiting for them to deliver the drugs. Around 230 kg of Amphetamine has been seized from the four suspects so far.
According to NCB sources, Rajasekhar Reddy and Venkat Ramana studied in the same school and knew each other from childhood.
“They had been in touch and decided to start drug production and smuggling. Rajasekhar Reddy is the key person of the international drug racket in the country. Their plan was to smuggle the drugs to Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, and probably to some Western countries too,” an official source said.
NCB officials are now investigating how far Reddy had used his official powers to smuggle the drugs. The investigators are also checking the crores of rupees the two friends had amassed from the drug trade.
The assets of the suspects have not yet been revealed. NCB officials said that Mula Ramamurthy and Ravi Shankar Rao were assisting the two main suspects to manufacture drugs at a rented facility on Hyderabad’s outskirts.
The duo had procured machinery, and the chemical ingredients required and was ready to deliver the drugs to Venkata Ramana Rao, without knowing that he had already been arrested.
“The two were waiting for Venkata Ramana Rao at the hotel parking area. We laid a trap for them without letting them know that Rao was already in our custody,” said an official.
