Vijayawada: Mangalagiri rural police of Guntur district arrested four individuals for their involvement in the sale of ganja and synthetic drugs, particularly targeting college students and local youth. Acting on credible intelligence, police conducted a successful operation and seized 1.2 kg ganja and 8.71 grams of MDMA (a synthetic party drug), along with a bike used for transportation. The total estimated value of the seized contraband is approximately Rs 1.1 lakh.
According to police, the arrested individuals were identified as Nandam Nikhil (24), Botla Venkata Kashivardhan (23), Pendyala Sai Kumar (24), and Gorre Girish Reddy (24). Two more accused, Sohail and Shyam, are currently absconding. The four arrested accused are friends and closely associated in drug-related activities. Girish Reddy, one of the accused, runs a business selling puppies through his Instagram page hash.d1. Through this platform, he came in contact with Shyam, to whom he sold a puppy. When Shyam visited Vijayawada, he met Girish and, through him, was introduced to Nikhil. This interaction led to the formation of a drug supply chain involving the other accused.
Police revealed that Nikhil began sourcing MDMA from Shyam. The synthetic drug was delivered to him in Vijayawada at a rate of Rs 5,000 per gram. Nikhil, in turn, sold the drug to his associates and other known individuals for double the price, Rs 10,000 per gram. He also supplied MDMA to Kashivardhan, who further sold it within Vijayawada and nearby areas at the same inflated rate.
Ganja, on the other hand, was procured from Sohail at Rs 8,000 per kilogram by Nikhil and Kashivardhan. After consuming a portion themselves, they packaged the remaining quantity into smaller units and handed them over to Sai Kumar and Girish Reddy to sell at Rs 1,000 per packet.
On Friday, Nikhil asked Kashivardhan to bring more ganja along with him. Kashivardhan complied and later visited Nikhil with 1.2 kg of ganja. Nikhil also prepared three packets of MDMA using some of the 10 grams he purchased from Shyam during the Ramzan festival.
The group decided to gather near a Dhaba in Yerrabalem to distribute the drugs. Nikhil and Kashivardhan arrived at the spot on a bike carrying ganja and MDMA packets. They were soon joined by Sai Kumar and Girish Reddy. After consuming some ganja themselves, Kashivardhan handed over two packets to the other two for distribution.
However, acting on the intelligence inputs, police conducted a raid at the location. All four accused were nabbed on the spot. A case was registered and efforts are ongoing to nab the absconding accused, Sohail and Shyam, who played a key role in the supply of narcotics.
