Radisson Drug Party: Key Drug Supplier Held, Accused Held
Cops say partygoers on the run attempting to rid system of cocaine
By : Syed Omar Farooq
Update: 2024-03-02 18:09 GMT
Hyderabad: The main accused in the hotel drug party incident, Syed Abbas Jafery Ali, was arrested from his hideout in Goa along with two other bigger drug suppliers, identified as Faisal Khan, alias Baba, and Abdul Wassay, alias Mirza Waheed Baig.
The investigators said they are yet to arrest five other consumers who were at the party. The police said the suspects were buying time to flush out the chemical from their systems.
According to the police, the three drug suppliers revealed more names, including that of 11 bulk suppliers of cocaine. They have been supplying drugs to businessmen and Tollywood actors, not only in Hyderabad, but also in Bengaluru, Chennai and Goa.
“These suppliers have a vast network with Mumbai-based peddlers. We strongly suspect that the bulk peddlers in Mumbai procure huge quantities of cocaine from across the border,” a police officer said.
Sources said that Abbas admitted to having supplied cocaine to Gajjala Vivekanand, son of BJP leader Yogananand and director of Manjeera Group, multiple times, including the February 25 party. He reportedly told the police of having witnessed many celebrities consuming drugs at Vivekanand’s parties.
Abbas said that he ascertained from Vivekanand’s driver G. Praveen that he and his friends had consumed drugs at the party. Kedar, Vivekanand and Nirbhay were arrested, while the others are on the run.
The police said that they issued notices under Section 67 of the NDPS and Section 41 of the CrPC to Sandeep, Shweta, Lishi Ganesh, Raghucharan and Neil for questioning, but they failed to appear. Neil is suspected to have fled to the US, while others were not using their SIM cards, and shuttling between Goa, Bengaluru and Mumbai.
“During investigation, we came to know that after February 25, they have not consumed any drugs as they are aware that we are looking for them and they should be present before the investigation officer (IO) after being issued notice,” the officer said.
An official from the state narcotics bureau said it takes 48 hours for traces of cocaine to flush out from a consumer’s blood, 72 hours from urine and 70 days from the hair.
“If the consumer washes his hair with some chemical or uses a hair dye even after one week of consumption, it's almost impossible to trace the drug from the hair sample,” an FSL officer said.
The police said that they would detain the rest of the suspects and if they tested positive, send them to rehab on court orders. “Our teams are after the accused peddlers and suppliers. We will get them soon with the help of Abbas, Faisal and Wassay,” the officer said.
Madhapur DCP Dr Vineeth G said, “We have got instructions from state government and senior officers to identify, arrest and prosecute drug peddlers suppliers; they will not be spared.”