Centre seeks report on drug abuse in Telangana

Hyderabad: The Union Home Ministry is learnt to have sought a detailed report on the incidents of drug abuse in Telangana, particularly in Hyderabad city where several cases had come to light, including the latest one where 148 people were taken under custody from Pudding and Mink Pub in the upmarket area of Banjara Hills.

Sources said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had asked the Narcotic Control Bureau (NCB) sub-zone office in the city to give a report on the growing activities of international drug peddlers and smugglers of narcotic drugs. The Home Minister also wanted to know about the progress of the cases that were filed against Tollywood actors which is being probed by the central agencies like Enforcement Directorate (ED). The ED already quizzed the actors in connection with their alleged links with some international drug peddlers.

Sources said that "the sub-zone office of the NCB in Hyderabad is preparing a report on drug smuggling in Hyderabad and international links in the supply of drugs to the city. The whole issue is under the scanner of the Union Home Ministry. Once the NCB submits a report, the Home Ministry in consultation with the state government will recommend an action plan to curb the menace." The state government has already sought the assistance of NCB in tracing the roots of the peddlers who had entered Hyderabad during the past few years. Officials said that there was a need for greater coordination between state and central agencies to tackle the issue seriously.

The official, who did not want to be named, said that the Union Home Ministry was likely to convene a meeting with state officials to discuss strategies to wipe out drug abuse in the city.