Hyderabad: A Hyderabad narcotics raid in the Old City has led police to four alleged consumers, including the son of an opposition MLC, while probing a drug supply network.Hyderabad Narcotics Enforcement Wing (H-NEW) personnel on Wednesday raided a house at Puranapul in Mangalhat police station limits following a tip-off about narcotics activity. During the operation, police detained a software engineer, Abhishek Yande, 31, and a 29-year-old man. A search of the premises allegedly led to the seizure of hashish and ganja.“During the search of Abhishek’s house, we found a plastic cover and recovered hashish and ganja. After the material was examined by the Clues team, it was tested positive as narcotics,” officials said. Officials said they seized 24 grams of hashish oil, 22 grams of ganja and two mobile phones from Abhishek and the other accused.During questioning, investigators allegedly learnt that Abhishek had been procuring hashish from a supplier identified as Manoj from Himachal Pradesh. Police claimed that while he initially sourced the contraband for personal consumption, he later shared it with four friends, including the MLC’s son.As part of the investigation, police reportedly visited the MLC‘s residence in the early hours of Thursday. The MLC’s son was present at the house when the cops landed there. Responding to the allegations, the MLC denied that his son had consumed narcotics and said the police inquiry stemmed from his friendship with the main accused.“The prime accused happened to be my son’s friend. A week ago, he came to my residence to watch football World Cup match. Due to this, my son’s number was found on the prime accused’s phone. On this suspicion, police came for an enquiry. The allegations that my son abused drug is false,” the MLC told TOI.Based on information gathered during the investigation, police named four more persons, including the MLC‘s son, as accused in the FIR. “Except Abhishek, others will be treated as consumers. Abhishek was arrested and investigation is being done to know about his network,” police said.The MLC’s son was not taken into custody. Investigators said the results of tests conducted on the MLC’s son and the other alleged consumers are awaited. Police said further investigation is underway to establish the source of the contraband and trace the wider network allegedly linked to the accused.
