Drug trafficking network busted, hotel entrepreneur held in Hyderabad

Hyderabad, Jul 9 (PTI) A hotel entrepreneur was arrested here as part of a major crackdown on narcotics trafficking and consumption among urban social circuits, and 10 grams of cocaine along with other narcotic substances were seized from his possession, officials said on Wednesday.

Based on specific intelligence inputs, a team from Cyberabad Narcotics Police Station intercepted a 34-year-old man, key peddler and consumer, near his restaurant in Kompally on July 7 while he was travelling in a car and upon a search 10 grams of cocaine, 3.2 grams of OG Kush (ganja), and 1.6 grams of Ecstasy pills were recovered, a release from EAGLE (Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement) said.

The arrest has unraveled a deep-rooted, transnational drug network involving international suppliers, pub-based consumers, courier delivery of narcotics, and digital financial transactions, it said.

The cocaine was hidden ingeniously in the heel compartment of a ladies footwear, packed inside a pink cardboard box, and sent through courier from New Delhi under the alias sender “Fatima”. This method of concealment demonstrates a growing sophistication in narcotics logistics aimed at bypassing routine checks, the release said.

During interrogation, the accused revealed he got “involved in drug consumption and trafficking” and his primary suppliers included both Indian contacts as well as a network of Nigerian drug traffickers operating from Delhi, Bengaluru and Goa.

The accused admitted to placing regular orders for cocaine and MDMA with a Nigerian national whose bank accounts were used to receive payments.

In return, cocaine and MDMA were dispatched via courier services, cleverly hidden in household items. The drugs were then stored in the entrepreneur’s car or restaurant premises for onward supply to consumers.

He confessed to having purchased cocaine over 20 times between 2021 and 2025, often consuming it at upscale pubs in Hyderabad.

Many of these pubs have come under scrutiny for facilitating drug consumption by allocating concealed or restricted areas for substance use, it said.

A case under NDPS Act was registered and the accused has been remanded to judicial custody, and the investigation is ongoing to trace the financial flow, courier channel nexus, digital footprints, and role of pubs and commercial establishments, the release added. PTI VVK VVK ROH