Nizamabad drug bust first exposed Telangana police officer’s son’s involvement in racket

Hyderabad: EAGLE sleuths, who have arrested Rahul Teja, the 34-year-old son of a Telangana intelligence officer, found that it was his plan to organise a New Year’s eve party that backfired and first exposed his role as an alleged drug facilitator-cum-abuser.

In the last week of Dec 2023, Nizamabad police had caught two of Rahul’s aides on National Highway-44, and seized 12 grams of cocaine, 3 grams of MDMA and ganja from them. Rahul was cited as an accused in the case after his aides revealed his role. However, Nizamabad police had not been able to arrest Rahul for a year and half since then.

Following six months of investigation, the Nizamabad police had found that the party was supposed to be attended by a UK-returned doctor, Rahul and few other businessmen. On Rahul’s advice, his associates — D Vikram of Gachibowli and Shaik Khaja Mohiddin Chisty — went to Delhi in the last week of Dec 2023 and contacted one Balvir Singh, from whom they purchased cocaine, MDMA and ganja, according to the chargesheet.

Delhi link

Vikram and Rahul’s friendship dates back to 2018. Nizamabad police’s remand report of Vikram in Jan 2024, said: “Vikram went to Guinea in 2013 for business. He saw sale of drugs on the roadside. In 2014, he went to United Kingdom where he first tasted cocaine in a party. Vikram returned to Hyderabad in 2018 and it was in a party he met Rahul. Whenever Rahul used to visit Hyderabad, he used to call Rahul to arrange cocaine. During one of the interactions, Rahul told him that it was through one Mike from Delhi, he used to arrange drug.”

In Dec 2023, when Vikram and Chisty were transporting drugs from Delhi to Hyderabad, they were caught by Nizamabad police. According to the chargesheet, in April 2024, while tracking the drug suppliers, Nizamabad officials went to Punjab and nabbed Balvir Singh, who was allegedly working in coordination with Mike, who is still absconding. Balvir Singh, a Punjab resident, who was once an illegal immigrant to Spain, returned to India in 2021. Later, he came in touch with Mike, and began coordinating with him for drugs.

After evading Nizamabad police for a year and a half, Rahul has now been nabbed by EAGLE sleuths for his role in the Kompally drug racket case busted last week. Rahul is said to have links with the arrested accused Surya Annamaneni, a hotel owner, and five others.

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Questions galore

2014: Rahul questioned by Central Crime Station (CCS) sleuths while probing a car theft case in Jubilee Hills

His father, though retired several years ago in the rank of additional superintendent of police, has been working in Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) of Telangana Intelligence.

Enquiries are being made on how Rahul escaped from arrest in the 2023 drug case