In a major crackdown on drugs, a joint team of officials of the Narcotics Bureau from Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai, seized 231kg of amphetamines from locations in Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
In the first raid, on September 30, in Miyapur in Hyderabad, 221kg of the drug were seized and two persons arrested and sent to judicial custody on October 2.
One of the accused, Venkat Rama Rao (37), works as a research scientist in a reputed private chemical firm in Bengaluru, according to news statements released by the NCB. He was reportedly arrested when he went to Hyderabad to pick up the drug consignment from the other accused Ravi Shankar Rao (21).
Following this, another raid conducted on the same day on Venkat’s rented house in Hebbagodi near Electronic City, Bengaluru, netted the NCB another 30gm of amphetamine and cash totaling Rs 1,23,32,700. Venkat’s wife was also arrested.
On October 1, another consignment of 10kg of the drug was seized from a manufacturing lab in Bollarum IDA, Hyderabad, where the drug was reportedly being manufactured by Ravi Shankar and his brother Rama Murthy, who is believed to be the main conspirator behind the entire operation.
According to the news statement, the value of the total drugs seized is estimated to be Rs 45 crore in the illicit market, and the drugs were intended to be trafficked to Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, as well as some Western countries.
According to a statement released by Prem Anand Sinha, Zonal Director of the Chennai Zonal Unit of the NCB, these raids were the result of a continuing investigation launched after 5.15kg of methamphetamine were seized at Chennai’s Koyembedu bus depot and a man named BV Jeevan Kumar was arrested. Jeevan Kumar’s revelations on the drug network led to the busting of the ring, the statement said.