Kerala man held for drug peddling

Rachakonda SOT along with the Vanasthalipuram police busted a drug racket operating between Karnataka and Hyderabad.

Hyderabad: Rachakonda Special Operations Team (SOT) along with the Vanasthalipuram police busted a drug racket operating between Karnataka and Hyderabad and arrested a person on charges of drug peddling.

Officials seized 50 grams of MDMA (Methylenedioxymethamphetamine) drug, cash and one mobile phone, altogether worth Rs.5 lakh.

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According to the police, the arrested person, Ch.Sumesh (30), a car driver from Rajahmundry and native of Kerala, was previously involved in similar cases in Vanasthalipuram and Kerala. The absconding person is Adhu Shalbin, a drug peddler from Bengaluru in Karnataka.

Police said Sumesh, a drug addict himself with the help of his friends, started procuring the contraband substance from Karnataka and sold it to customers in Hyderabad and Kerala for easy money. He was last arrested in 2021, along with his associates while transporting 240 kg marijuana in Vanasthalipuram. He was also detained under the Preventive Detention Act at the Central Prison in Cherlapally.

After being released from the prison in November last year, Sumesh along with his friend Adhu Shalbin, continued drug peddling. A senior police official said Sumesh purchased the drug for between Rs.4,000 to Rs.5,000 per gram from Shablin and sold it between Rs.6,000 to Rs.8,000 per gram. He was caught when he came to the city to handover a consignment.