Actor Rakul Preet Singh's brother, Aman Preet Singh, was arrested in a major drug bust in Hyderabad on Monday, as authorities seized 199 grams of cocaine worth Rs 35 lakh, Cyberabad police said.
According to officials, Aman Preet Singh is among five people arrested as customers after a joint raid by the Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau and Narsingi Police, Cyberabad, and the subsequent arrest of five drug peddlers.
The joint raid was conducted based on credible information at a flat in Vishal Nagar and seized 199 grams of cocaine worth Rs. 35 lakh from their possession.
In addition to the five drug peddlers, officials identified 13 customers of the contraband, including Aman Preet Singh.
"Till now, five have been brought and tested, and the results turned positive. They are being sent to the hospital. All these people tested positive for cocaine are Aniketh Reddy, Prasad, Aman Preet Singh, Madhusudhan, and Nikhil Daman. All of them have been taken into custody by the Police SOT team and will be produced before the court after medical tests," DCP Rajendra Nagar Srinivas said.
Detailing about the raid, officials said that TGANB and Narsingi Police conducted the operation at Flat No 202 of Janab Fort View Apartments in Vishal Nagar, Hydershakote, and apprehended five people including two foreign nationals, along with recovery of 199 grams of cocaine worth Rs 35 lakh from their possession.
The arrested accused have been identified as Onuoha Blessing alias Joana Gomes (31), a resident of Bangalore with a Nigerian passport, Azeez Noheem Adeshola (29), a native of Lagos, Nigeria, Allam Satya Venkata Gowtham (31), a native of Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, Sanaboina Varun Kumar (42), a native of Amalapuram, East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh, and Mohd Mahaboob Shareef (36), a resident of Rangareddy district.
"They were trying to distribute it to drug peddlers in the limits of Narsingi PS, Cyberabad. Two passports, two motorcycles, ten mobile phones, and other incriminating material were also seized," they said.
Two more Nigerian nationals, identified as Divine Ebuka Suzee alias Ebuka alias Emmanuel alias Level (35) and Ezeonyili Franklin Uchenna alias Kaleshi (22), are wanted in the case and are on the run, they added.
Officials said that the kingpin of the gang, Divine Ebuka Suzee, may have fled to Nigeria. He runs a significant drug syndicate in association with the arrested drug dealers. He sends his main associate, Onuoha Blessing, to Delhi to transport drugs to Hyderabad and other cities in India. She travels by both flights and trains to supply the dealers. In Hyderabad, these dealers supply the drugs to consumers.
"Onuoha Blessing, originally from Nigeria, concealed her identity and obtained a passport from the Republic of Guinea-Bissau under the fake name Joana Gomes. She came to India in 2018 for the drug trade," they pointed out.
"She used a fake passport to avoid legal issues and escape back to her country as needed, and she employed international SIM cards for communication," they added.
'Drug crime is the most serious crime India is facing'
Rhea Chakraborty and India's drug of choice
Bollywood drug abuse probe makes advertisers nervous
Drug controversy has not dented SRK's popularity
How Dawood became an 'international drug trafficker'