How much would a certified doctor know about dealing marijuana? Apparently, more than you think.
The Rachakonda police raided a house in Hyderabad's Bahadurpura area on Sunday, where a city-based doctor was running a drug racket, lacing chocolates with weed, before sending them out across India.
According to the press release, the police seized 45 ganja-laced chocolates, besides a packed box, two packets of chocolate, 50 empty cups, ghee packets, a mobile phone, a laptop, a bike and some cash.
The arrested, identified as Mohammed Sujath Ali Khan, was no ordinary dealer, as he had an Instagram account, with 1,800 followers where he advertised his 'stuff'.
The police also stated that he had over 3,000 customers across the country.
The menu card too, had variety. Starting from ‘X’, to '6X', the prices ranged from Rs 500 per piece of chocolate to Rs 1,800 per piece. 'X' referred to potency of the drug.
According to the Special Operations Team (SOT) that arrested Khan, he completed his MBBS From Deccan Medical College in 2006, following which he also worked as a nutritionist at a local gymnasium.
However, he did not make enough money with the job, which is when he came across YouTube videos detailing how to bake cakes and chocolate with marijuana.
“After learning how to make such cakes and chocolates, he experimented on himself. After that, he created an Instagram account `weedibles.hyderabad'. From here, he could connect with his customers and clients. He would then give his cell phone number to his prospective clients. After that, he would explain the effects of consuming these chocolates. After he received the payment, he would then send them to his customers, through courier," SOT inspector K Narsing Rao told TOI.
Khan was reported to have procured the marijuana from peddlers in the Dhoolpet area and bough chocolates and other ingredients from general stores.
He might be produced before a magistrate on Sunday. The Instagram page has also since been removed.
This comes close to a month after the Hyderabad police busted a 33-year-old cultivating over 40 potted plants of ganja at his flat in Manikonda.
The police raided his home, to find 40 potted plants, that were kept under ultraviolet LED lights, in one of the rooms. 8.6 kgs of weed was seized from him.