Ganja trade persists in Hyderabad’s Mangar Basti despite repeated raids

Illegal drug sales continue in Hyderabad’s Mangar Basti despite repeated raids by police and enforcement agencies. Sources say the trade has declined but persists, with local gangs allegedly dealing in ganja, narcotic tablets, injections and cough syrups through concealed supply networks.

Hyderabad: Despite repeated raids by the Hyderabad police, the EAGLE Force and the Prohibition and Excise department, the illegal sale of narcotic substances continues in Mangar Basti, also known as Mongar Basthi, at Afzal Sagar under Habeeb Nagar police limits.

In the second week of July, nearly 1,100 police personnel in 38 teams conducted a massive pre-dawn search operation in Mangar Basti and adjoining areas, detaining several suspects and targeting those allegedly involved in illegal activities.

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However, sources said the drug trade continues, though its scale has declined following sustained enforcement. Several local gangs, earlier involved in petty offences such as pickpocketing, are now suspected of turning to the more lucrative trade in ganja, narcotic tablets, injections and cough syrups.

Ganja reportedly sells for Rs.400-Rs.500 a tola, while narcotic tablets cost Rs.50-Rs.200 each. Certain 5-ml injections are sold for Rs.1,000-Rs.1,500, and cough syrup bottles for Rs.350-Rs.500.

Police officials said several notorious peddlers had been arrested and sent to jail over the past year. “The business has come down considerably due to continuous enforcement. It is only a matter of time before it is completely stopped,” a senior official said.

Residents, however, said regular buyers still manage to access the locality. While newcomers are often intercepted, checked and questioned by the police, familiar customers reportedly use local routes to enter, make purchases and leave quickly.

“The peddlers are smuggling small quantities of ganja into the locality, while the safe houses where the contraband is stored are elsewhere,” a source said.

The locality, also known in official records as Mang Garodi Samaj Colony, is predominantly inhabited by the Mang Garodi community, which migrated from Maharashtra and settled there more than a century ago.