Officials of Telangana's Prohibition and Excise department arrested a former NASA scientist and his aide on Wednesday for their alleged involvement in the drug trade. The accused were identified as Anish Dundoo, 29, and his friend Ritul Agarwal, 26. Officials seized 16 blots of LSD from Anish, and 1.2 kg of cannabis from Ritul.
The Times of India reported that sleuths picked Anish from his office near Paradise, while Ritul was picked up from Nampally.
Officials zeroed in on them, after analysing the call details and cell phone data records of 10 peddlers that were arrested in the recent drug bust.
The Deccan Chronicle quoted officials as saying:
Anish, an American passport holder, had studied at Doon School, Dehradun and was earlier with NASA. Over the last few months, he procured drugs including cocaine, LSD and MDMA through the “Dark Web” from a site called Lunacy, eight times. We nabbed Anish based on credible information.
Officials added that Ritul obtained a BBA degree from ICFAI Business School, and would also procure drugs from the Dark Web by paying in bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies.
Media reports also quote the duo telling officials during questioning that the drug parcels received through couriers had Netherlands postage markings on them. Last week, a massive expose in Hyderabad revealed that over 1,000 students, some of them as young as 13, were using drugs like LSD and MDMA.
Advisories were sent to the educational institutions including prestigious international schools and engineering colleges following the findings of the Prohibition and Excise Department.
All accused arrested so far were peddlers and all of them were well educated. People from the film industry, hospitality, and MNCs were allegedly involved in the racket.
Meanwhile, nine Tollywood personalities, including two female actors, were issued notices by the Special Task Force (STF), asking them to appear in front of them within six days. However, officials have remained tight-lipped about their names and identities. Akun Sabharwal, Director of Enforcement, told the media:
We can’t judge at the moment who the addicts and suppliers are. We have sent notices to them. We can’t reveal names or the number now. The notices have been sent under Section 67 of the NDPS Act.
Movie Artistes' Association (MAA) has also issued a warning to its members, asking them not to indulge in the habit of consuming drugs. The MAA warned its members that the police has a list of names, of all the users, and asked them to stop trying to purchase any more substances.
“We will conduct an awareness programme against drugs use. We will also be providing treatment. Hyderabad will lose its charm if the film industry gets a bad name. This should not be the case," Producer Suresh Babu said.
(This story was first published in The News Minute and has been republished with permission)
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