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Crackdown on narcotic mafia
After the arrests of three persons, including a ‘research scientist’ of a pharma company, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) will be taking into custody some more persons who have links with manufacturing and shipping narcotic substances from Hyderabad to Bengaluru and Chennai.
Hyderabad: After the arrests of three persons, including a ‘research scientist’ of a pharma company, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) will be taking into custody some more persons who have links with manufacturing and shipping narcotic substances from Hyderabad to Bengaluru and Chennai.
According to NCB officials, the amphetamine, a psychotropic substance which works as a powerful stimulant (banned in India under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985), is the “parent compound” used in psychotropic substances like Bupropion, Cathinone, MDMA (Ecstacy) and Methamphetamine, and could fetch five to ten times more profits, if sold in International market.
To check this new trend, the NCB officials have taken up the issue seriously and began investigation at a massive level, covering major cities in South India. “More arrests would be made in the operation jointly being conducted in Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru,” NCB Zonal Director SK Sinha informed on
Tuesday.
According to the officials, if the seized substance which is worth Rs 45 crore in India, if smuggled over to South East Asia and Africa could be valued at five to 10 times more, depending on the market.
To avert any further possibility of manufacturing and selling of contrabands, Sinha said that the teams in all the three cities had geared up to investigate and arrest more persons.
After the arrest of research scientist Venkat Ramana Rao (37) by the NCB, along with his associate Ravi Shankar Rao (22) in the city on Friday, and Ramana Rao’s wife Preethi (35) in Bengaluru on Monday, the NCB pulled up its socks to investigate further.
The recent action against three of the accused was believed to be the major anti narcotic operation in the city linked to Bengaluru, where the officials had seized 231 kilos of narcotic substance, worth Rs 45 crore and Rs 1.23 crore cash from their possession.
The chemical reactor in IDA Bollaram, where amphetamine was manufactured, was taken on lease by the accused citing a good cause, for manufacturing a “drug to cure diarrhea”.
The NCB sleuths had apprehended Venkat Ramana Rao and Ravi at Miyapur in the city on Friday while they were on their way to Bengaluru.
Based on their confession, the NCB sleuths raided Venkat’s house at Hebbagodi near Electronic City in Bengaluru on the same day and seized a large amount of the contraband along with Rs 1.32 crore cash.
They arrested Venkat’s wife Preethi for attempting to dispose of the drug and hide the cash. “She tried to dispose of the drug and tried to hide the money, during the raid,” Sinha informed.
