Bengaluru-based techie sentenced to 10 years in jail for possession of hard drugs

Bengaluru-based techie, who used to work in Accenture, and was arrested for possessing hard drugs in 2015, was convicted on Wednesday by the sessions court in Bengaluru.

Additional City Civil and Session Judge and Special Judge for Narcotics cases DY Basapur convicted Venkat Subramaniam to 10 years rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs 1,85,000.

Venkat had come to Bengaluru from Coimbatore in 2007, and was working in Accenture at the time of his arrest in 2015. Venkat’s home in Vijaynagar was raided by the Narcotics Control Bureau on June 23, 2015, and a huge cache of psychotropic substances, including marijuana, cocaine, LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide), crystal meth and MDMA (Methylenedioxy-N-Methylamphetamine) was seized.

He was found guilty of charges under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. Venkat was sentenced to one-year imprisonment after being found guilty under Section 20(a) for cultivation of cannabis and was fined Rs 10,000.

Venkat was also found guilty under section 22(b) for contravention of quantity of psychotropic substances lesser than commercial quantity but greater than smaller quantity and fined with Rs 75,000. Venkat was imposed with an additional fine of Rs 1,00,000 for the contravention of commercial quality psychotropic substances.

According to senior police officials, one gram of LSD or MDMA would be sufficient to prepare around 30,000 doses. LSD is a hallucinogen used as a recreational party drug. “These drugs make people undergo intense emotional changes, ego distortions and consumption of larger quantities of these drugs can lead to cardiac arrest and also death,” the officer added.

As per the provisions of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), 0.1 gm of LSD and MDMA is considered to a commercial quantity.

Upon interrogation, it was revealed that Venkat became addicted to drugs and psychedelic substances after multiple trips to Goa, where he was introduced to these drugs.

Reports say that Venkat had developed a network of dealers where he sold these drugs to clients at rave parties in Tamil Nadu’s Kodaikanal. He is said to have sourced the drugs from Nigeria and had kept in touch with the dealers there through social media.

When the NCB raided his residence, they had found 3.4 g of cocaine, 0.9 g of LSD crystals, LSD blots, 0.52 g of MDMA, 2.5 g of hashish, 40 g of ganja and Rs 3.45 lakh in cash.