Drugs, deception, and the Hyderabad police’s drive to dismantle a vast network

Mythili's arrest exposes a drug network in Hyderabad, revealing the alarming rise in drug abuse and trafficking.

Mythili (name changed to protect identity), a 36-year-old woman from Nizampet in Hyderabad, had a good life: two little kids, a villa in an upscale gated community, and a husband living in the Gulf who would send her a generous allowance of ₹3 lakh a month for expenses. With her close circle of friends, she’d spend weekends at a bistro, transitioning into a nightclub as the sun set. On February 2 this year, she was arrested by the Hyderabad police on charges of peddling cocaine.

In August 2022, Mythili met alleged drug peddler Suleman bin Abubakar, 31, at a posh nightclub in Gachibowli. Striking up a conversation over a drink, Suleman had slipped her a sample of cocaine and MDMA for free, says the police. A few more meetings with Suleman followed, and Mythili went from being a casual drug user to a peddler, procuring drugs from Suleman and selling it to her friends, claim the police.

Abubakar, as per the police, would identify young, vulnerable people in nightclubs, and get them to sample drugs like cocaine and MDMA for free. Once they took the bait, he would channel drugs through them. Mythili’s arrest helped the Cyberabad police bust Abubakar’s network, which was reportedly one of many avenues through which drugs like cocaine, MDMA, and LSD are being pumped into the city.

Within a month of her arrest, Mythili’s bail was posted. Her husband returned to India and the family vacated the villa within a week, said the staff at the gated community. According to Mythili’s confession to the police, a copy of which is in possession with The Hindu, she got 17 of her friends to sample the drugs supplied by Abubakar.

The easy availability of drugs in the city is becoming increasingly evident from the series of seizures. Last year, there were 243 drug seizures in Hyderabad, with a total of 740 persons being booked by the police (727 Indians and 13 foreign nationals). This number is a stark rise when compared to 2019, when there were 88 drug seizures, with 196 persons being booked (195 Indians, and one foreign national).

 “However, there is a lot more that goes undetected,” say officials of the Telangana State Anti-Narcotics Bureau (TSNAB).

Anjana Jain (name changed on request), 29, was planning to host an intimate rave party for a select group of friends, and wanted to see if she could get her hands on some cocaine. At a social gathering, she got the phone number of a person who was known to be ‘Hyderabad’s best cocaine supplier’.