For nearly two years, Harshvardhan Shrivastava, 30, a resident of Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, has been working “too hard” to launch a startup. An architecture graduate from Pune, he stopped practice and placed his entire focus on a business he envisioned. He was doing well, with a balance of Rs 40 lakh in his crypto wallet, until the police knocked on his door.
His luck ran out Tuesday when the Hyderabad police arrested him for allegedly supplying hydroponic ganja. B Srinivasa Rahul, 30, another interstate drug supplier, who was linked to Shrivastava, from Tamil Nadu and two local peddlers from Secunderabad, Abhishek, 26, and Dhawal, 29, too, were arrested by the Hyderabad police after busting the interstate drug supply chain that allegedly involved procurement via darknet, payment in cryptocurrency and hawala networks, and an ingenious transfer technique through courier services.
“Harshvardhan wanted to make easy money too quickly to secure funds for his startup. He doesn’t know his supplier ‘HH Handler’. We are analysing his mobile phone. There are transactions of up to 5 lakh per day. The entire balance of up to Rs 40 lakh is nothing but drug money,” P Viswa Prasad, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crimes and SIT), Hyderabad, told indianexpress.com.
Following the arrests, the Hyderabad police seized 1,380 grams of ‘OG’ or hydroponic ganja, 44 LSD blots, 250 grams of magic mushrooms, among other things, all worth Rs 1.4 crore. Hydroponic ganja refers to marijuana grown using hydroponics, a method that involves cultivating plants without soil in a controlled environment. Instead of soil, the roots are typically suspended in a nutrient-rich water solution. Such marijuana is said to be highly refined and potent.
Addressing the press Tuesday, Prasad said Harshvardhan learned to procure and supply drugs through the darknet from a supplier by the name of ‘HH Handler’. The police are investigating further to determine the details of the supplier. Acting as a middleman, Harshvardhan allegedly received orders via the Signal app and supplied the drug he procured via darknet.
“He buys one ounce of OG for Rs 15,000 and sells the same for Rs 25,000 and transports the drug through courier services and receives sale proceeds through hawala and cryptocurrency. He made payments to ‘HH Handler’ in cryptocurrency,” the police said.
Another accused, Srinivasa Rahul, works as an IT engineer in Chennai. “He is employed with an IT company and earns about 2 lakh monthly. He has been supplying drugs to his contacts to support a lavish lifestyle. He has travelled to a Southeast Asian country 13 times in the recent past. We suspect he has supplies coming from that country,” Prasad told indianexpress.com.
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The other two accused, Abhishek and Dhawal, allegedly procured OG from Harshvardhan and magic mushrooms from Rahul and supplied them to their local contacts in Hyderabad.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg. The accused are believed to have links all across the country. More details will emerge in the coming days,” Prasad added.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
