The confessions of IAF officer Rajasekhar Reddy who was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) is reportedly revealing the massive drug trail that spanned many cities in the south including Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
Writing for the Times of India, Mahesh Buddi reports that Reddy confessed that he had supplied large quantities of methamphetamine (meth) and mephedrone to absconding narcotics peddlers Venkat Reddy of Bangalore and Nabil of Mumbai.
The report adds:
Wing commander Reddy confessed to NCB that before the racket was busted on September 30, accused Rama Murthy had manufactured methamphetamine and mephedrone twice in the recent past at a lab in IDA Bolarum...The gang which has been manufacturing narcotics at the leased chemical unit at 'Trident Finechem Labs' at Bolarum was all set to launch its own chemical factory to make drugs with Rs 1.5 crore of accused DSR's money
"The wing commander said that the Rs 1.23 crore cash seized from accused scientist Venkat Rama Rao's house was meant for starting their own lab. But we still have to verify this with facts," an investigating official told TOI.
On Thursday, NCB officials raided the premises of the factory in Hyderabad's Bolarum area where the recently busted racket of Amphetamine drugs was being manufactured.
This followed earlier raids by the NCB in Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, which uncovered the major drug-ring. Around 231 kgs of amphetamine were confiscated, and the street value of the drug consignment ran upto Rs 45 crore.
One of the key members of the drug-ring was Venkat Rama Rao, a research scientist in the chemical industry in Bengaluru.
Another alleged member of the ring, an Indian Air Force Wing Commander with the Information Technology Wing in Delhi, Rajasekhar Reddy, was also arrested.