Hyderabad MD Student Held for Selling Drugs to Medicos
The excise task force (STF) seized six varieties of narcotic substances during a raid on his house in Musheerabad
Hyderabad: A final-year MD student of Gandhi Medical College (GMC) specialising in forensic sciences has been arrested for procuring and supplying banned drugs to fellow medicos and others. The excise task force (STF) seized six varieties of narcotic substances during a raid on his house in Musheerabad.
Dr Joseph Paul, 26, found in possession of drugs, was arrested under the NDPS Act. His associates — Dr Pramod from the GMC and resident of Ramnagar; Sandeep Reddy of Padmaraonagar; and Sharath of Nallakunta — were absconding. Police said Dr Pramod and Sharath, described as the transporters, were suspected to be in Bengaluru and negotiating another deal with a Nigerian national who supplied the contraband.
STF officials said Dr Paul, a native of Tenali in Andhra Pradesh, rented a house in Musheerabad a year ago to conduct the illegal trade. Along with his associates, he allegedly procured drugs from Delhi, Bengaluru, Goa and Mumbai, repackaged them and sold them to medical students and others in the twin cities.
Investigators found that the group used “dead-drop” delivery to avoid direct receipt of packages. Evidence retrieved from the accused’s mobile phone included drug-related chats, photographs of suppliers and peddlers and contacts of interstate traffickers.
According to STF technical experts, the network has been active for the past year, transporting drugs primarily through road and rail routes. The seized contraband, worth `1.53 lakh, included OG Kush (26.95 g), MDMA (6.21 g), LSD blots (15 papers), cocaine (1.32 g), OG gummies (5.8 g) and hashish (0.008 g).
An STF officer said two special teams have been formed to trace the Nigerian supplier and the absconding associates. The arrested accused and seized material have been handed over to the Excise police station for further investigation.
In an earlier case in which a doctor was involved, Dr Namrata Chigurupati, former CEO of a hospital, was arrested on May 10 while purchasing `5 lakh worth cocaine from a Mumbai-based supplier, Vansh Dhakkar. Dr Namrata, during further questioning by the Raidurgam police, revealed she had spent around `70 lakh on drugs over time.
