Andhra IAS Officer's Son Among 7 Held For Consuming Narcotic Drugs After Raid at Hyderabad Pub
A case has been registered under relevant sections of the NDPS Act, 1985
Hyderabad: The Gachibowli police have said that six persons, including the son of an IAS officer, were arrested during a late-night raid at Quake Arena pub at Kondapur for alleged consumption of drugs on Thursday night.
The raid was conducted by the EAGLE (Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement) Force along with Gachibowli police during a DJ event featuring international artist Black Coffee. The cases have been registered against six persons, including an IAS official’s son Akella Harith Sarang under the NDPS Act after they tested positive for drug consumption.
Acting on prior intelligence, officials had shortlisted 64 suspected consumers and carried out discreet checks at the venue, identifying several individuals for testing.
A senior official told Deccan Chronicle that those shortlisted were already on the radar of police as known or suspected consumers. “We maintain a database of such individuals and continuously monitor their activities. Based on credible inputs that many from this list would be attending the DJ event, we planned and executed the raid,” the official said.
He further added that two DJs, including international artist Black Coffee, were also subjected to testing, and both returned negative results. The operation was carried out using ABONN urine drug testing kits, which revealed consumption of substances such as ganja, benzodiazepines, and methamphetamine among those tested positive.
Tollywood actress Hema, who was present at the venue, tested negative. Earlier, she was linked to a similar case in Bengaluru in 2024.
An officer from the Serilingampally zone clarified that although seven persons initially tested positive, one individual was later found to be negative after medical evaluation. Doctors confirmed that he was on antidepressants, which may have influenced the preliminary test result. He will be tested again to ascertain the results.
The others who tested positive were identified as Monish Umesh, Prudviraj, Abhishek, Rishab, Jyothiraditya.
Preliminary inquiry revealed that the consumption of drugs did not take place at the pub. “Some individuals had consumed substances earlier, three reportedly in Thailand, two during Holi in the form of bhang, and another in the United Kingdom,” the officer said.
The police said all six admitted to prior consumption. Their parents have been informed, and efforts will be made to counsel them and facilitate de-addiction.