Making a breakthrough in the case relating to the death of an engineering graduate due to drug overdose, Hyderabad police on Wednesday, April 6, arrested alleged drug peddler V Lakshmipati and a drug supplier. Lakshmipati was on the run since last week when police revealed that a 23-year-old unemployed techie in Hyderabad died due to a drug overdose. The Hyderabad Narcotic Enforcement Wing (H-NEW), along with Nallakunta police, made the arrests. Deputy Commissioner of Police, H-NEW, G Chakravarthi announced the arrests at a press conference.
Police seized 840 grams of hash oil from the accused. The investigations revealed that Lakshmipati was supplying drugs to 18 consumers. He revealed details of some consumers. Two of them, Vamsi Krishna and Vikram Monga, were also arrested. So far, police have arrested seven persons in the case while some others are still absconding. Hailing from Andhra Pradesh, Lakshmipati discontinued B Tech. He shifted to Madhapur in Hyderabad and allegedly started peddling drugs. According to The Hindu, Lakshmipati had supplied hash oil to another peddler, whose friend died at Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) due to drug overdose last week.
According to police, Lakshmipati was arrested in two cases in 2016. He has six cases pending against him. The accused was believed to be sourcing hash oil from Araku in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. Police also arrested K Nageswar Rao alias Nagesh who was allegedly selling hash oil to Lakshmipati.
Lakshmipati was also addicted to consuming hash oil and selling it to potential customers in Hyderabad through his organised drug network, police said. According to police, Lakshmipati used to purchase one kg of hash oil for Rs 50,000 and sell 5 grams for Rs 3,000. He formed a big organised network in Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Rachakonda limits and supplied the hash oil to the sub-peddlers and addicted consumers, they said.
Nageswara Rao cultivates and supplies ganja and hash oil to the peddlers, police said. His entire family and relatives are involved in this business and supply the drug to various parts of the country including Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar, according to the police.