Charge sheets in Hyderabad drug racket likely from next month

Charge sheets will be filed from next month in the cases related to a racket of supplying high-end narcotics in and around Hyderabad, unearthed by the Telangana's Prohibition and Excise department over a month ago, a top Excise official said today.

Eleven cases have been registered since the racket was detected on July 2 by the department's Special Investigation Team (SIT) with the arrest of three persons.

A total of 22 people were arrested, including US citizen Dundu Anish, a former aerospace engineer who has worked with the NASA, Dutch national Mike Kamminga, South African national Alex Victor, besides seven BTech degree-holders employed with multi-national companies here.

Excise (enforcement) director Akun Sabharwal said he is satisfied with the progress of investigation into the cases.

"We had a series of meetings with our legal advisers and public prosecutors also... my assessment is that we should start filing charge sheets from September end," Sabharwal told PTI.

"Keeping in view the forensic science reports on body fluid samples (which are awaited)...we expect (by) September end to mid-December on filing of charge sheets in all the cases," he said.

The majority of documentation work is done. "Laptops and cell phones (which were seized from arrested accused) analysis is also being done," Sabharwal said.

The investigators suspect that the gang's clientele comprised nearly 1,000 customers, including students of city-based schools and colleges, people associated with Tollywood, senior officials of MNCs and employees of IT firms in Cyberabad.

The SIT has questioned around 100 people, including Telugu film personalities, in connection with the racket of supplying high-end drugs such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA).

On notices issued to a few IT firms, Sabharwal said, "We informed certain companies. We are calling people (for questioning) based on substantial evidence."

After the names of some members of film industry had cropped up during grilling of the arrested accused, the SIT summoned them under relevant sections of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

The probe team questioned 12 persons connected to the Telugu film industry, including actors and directors.

The SIT questioned them to find out if they had any links with the racket as consumers or suppliers, or with those arrested.

LSD is sold in tablets or in liquid form, and is known to be one of the most potent 'mood-changing' chemicals, while MDMA, commonly known  as 'Molly' or 'Ecstasy', is used as a recreational or party drug.

The racketeers placed orders through 'Darknet' (a restricted online network frequently used in illegal activities) and the drugs were delivered by couriers, including from overseas, SIT officials had said.

Earlier, addressing a panel discussion on 'substance abuse-causes, concerns and corrections' here, Sabharwal said it was in early June this year when, based on information about contraband being sold near a school by someone, the Excise officials started tracking.

"Things kept on growing from there and the whole thing broke out after one of my officers was attacked," he said.

"I personally feel the job that we had set ourselves out for has been achieved in a great measure," Sabharwal said.

"We need to understand as a society that we need to shun drugs and not addicts, and everybody needs to be clear about it that it is the drugs we are against and not addicts, and there has to be a fine balance between punishment and reform," he said.

While granting bail to some of the accused, the courts ordered that they have to appear before excise stations and undertake rehabilitation, Sabharwal pointed out.