Drug peddling racket busted in Hyderabad, 4 held

Four persons were arrested by the Rachakonda police on Tuesday for peddling drugs. Around 38 grams of cocaine, Rs 22,000 cash, three bikes, four mobile phones and a digital weighing machine were seized.

According to the police, the arrested persons were identified as Mark Owolabi (41) of Banjara Hills and a native of Nigeria, Thoda Harshavardhan (21), a degree final year student, Duddu Pavan Kumar (21) and G Swami Prasad (23), all residents of Neredmet.

Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat, said that the kingpin of the racket Mark came to India in 2012 on a business visa and began exporting fabrics to his country. However, he was found selling cocaine to people for a price of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 for a gram. The commissioner that Mark was sourcing the cocaine through a contact in New Delhi regularly.

Earlier, Mark was arrested by the Cyberabad Police and the Prohibition and Excise department sleuths in drug trafficking-related cases. However, he continued to committing the crimes even after coming out of jail.

Efforts are underway to nab the accused who are absconding, the police said.