The recent drug bust in Jubilee Hills, in which actor Nanduri Uday Kiran was caught red-handed, has once again exposed the ‘high’ side of Tollywood. Though Rotimi Olusola Kehinde, the Nigerian drug peddler, has not yet named anyone else from the industry as a customer, the police suspects the existence of an extensive network within Tollywood. Many from the industry, it is believed, consume drugs, including producers, directors as well as actresses.
One young starlet with inside knowledge revealed how easy it is for the stars to procure drugs. “Not just the men, even several actresses are hooked to drugs. Many prefer marijuana. The easiest way to procure drugs is through the movie producers who know the dealers. They then pass on the narcotics to the actors. In almost all film industries, the drivers and managers too help stars buy drugs. Many high-profile stars always keep a quantity of drugs at their home. In fact, drug use is most common during ‘house parties’. That is when the film fraternity gets together for drug use.”
In the Uday Kiran case, initial investigation has revealed that the actor had frequent meetings with the Nigerian peddler in the past few weeks. “Uday had met Rotimi frequently after he came into contact with him through another person. He has confessed that earlier he used to get drugs from peddlers in Goa and Mumbai,” said B. Limba Reddy, the additional DCP of the Commissioner’s Task Force. Investigating officers suspect many of Uday’s friends too have close contacts with the drug mafia in Hyderabad and other cities. Uday landed in the police net as the cops were able to track him when he met the peddler. However, the more established celebrities have their own covert channels to acquire narcotic drugs.
“We know some big names from Tollywood who deal in drugs. But their transactions are in extremely closed circles that are very difficult to break into. They purchase and consume drugs in private places. Unless we find solid evidence, it is impossible to arrest them,” said a senior police official.
In 2010, after the arrest of actor Ravi Teja’s brother Raghu Babu and Bharat, who allegedly had close links with Nigerian peddlers, city police had found phone numbers of a few actors and actresses with the peddlers. When media reports indicated that the numbers of stars like Rana Daggubati and Varun Sandesh were found with the peddlers, they denied the allegations.
