Inter-state drug racket busted in Hyderabad; 5 peddlers among 7 arrested

Hyderabad: Over a month after registering a case against a quality analyst of a IT company for allegedly being a peddler, Hyderabad-Narcotics Enforcement Wing (H-NEW) on Wednesday declared the arrest of seven persons, including four peddlers from Mumbai.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Hyderabad police commissioner CV Anand said Mumbai-based four drug peddlers — electrician Mujaffar Wahid Shaikh, taxi driver Vinod Kishanlal Shrivasthav, 3D Art consultant Chaitanya Vinayak Wagh, delivery boy Mustak Khan — and city-based drug peddler –cum- IT employee Prem and two consumers were caught at Golconda and, from them, 276 grams of cocaine and eight mobile phones, all worth Rs 69 lakh, were seized.

Prem was previously involved in two different cases registered by the Nallakunta police and the prohibition & excise sleuths for violation of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Mujaffar Wahid Shaikh of Mumbai used to procure cocaine from an absconding Nigerian national, who in turn would bring in the contraband through the sea route. The Nigerian national used to supply the drug to another wanted foreign national. The sub-peddler used to supply the drug to Vinod Kishanlal of Mumbai, who used to sell it to Chaitanya Vinayak Wagh at a higher price.

“Prem used to buy cocaine from Chaitanya and Mustak Khan, and then sell the contraband to consumers in Hyderabad at higher price and make a profit,’’ the CP said.

Explaining how each accused got into drug peddling, police said Prem was first arrested by the Nallakunta police in 2022 after he was found to be in possession of LSD, hashish oil and ecstasy pills. After coming out on bail, Prem joined a software company as a quality analyst. Mustak a gig worker, by seeing his brother, got into drug peddling to make quick money. Similarly, Vinod, who was originally a drug transporter, later turned a peddler. He was procuring drugs from foreign nationals.