HYDERABAD: Police on Monday arrested four persons — an interstate drug supplier, a supplier-cum-peddler and two local peddlers — for allegedly smuggling and selling narcotics. They also seized 1.38 kg of hydroponic ganja, 44 LSD blots, 250 grams of magic mushrooms, six mobile phones, a two-wheeler, all worth around Rs 1.40 crore. Police said all four were living extravagant lifestyles funded by the drug trade.
The accused have been identified as Harshvardhan Shrivastava alias Harsh, B. Srinivasa Rahul alias Rahul, Abhishek, and Dhawal. According to the police, Harsh, from Madhya Pradesh, procured high-quality cannabis (OG) from the darknet marketplace ‘Dread Market’ using encrypted platforms like Signal. He acted as a middleman, purchasing OG at Rs 15,000 per ounce and selling it for Rs 25,000 through couriers like DTDC and Sri Thirupathi. Payments were made via cryptocurrency and hawala networks, funding his lavish lifestyle.
Rahul, an IT engineer from Chennai, started off as a consumer but later became a transporter, sourcing OG via Snapchat and supplying it to peddlers in Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru.
Abhishek, an IIIT-Raipur graduate, procured OG from Rahul and magic mushrooms from Harsh. He used Signal for communication and sent money via hawala. He supplied drugs to Dhawal in Secunderabad and to other customers, earning profits by selling at higher prices.
