Hyderabad: A major drug racket was busted by Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE) on Monday, July 7, involving transnational suppliers, high-end pubs, and intricate courier routes.
A hotel entrepreneur named Surya Annamaneni, 34, is the prime accused in the case. Surya reportedly holds BTech and MBA degrees from reputed institutions and runs a restaurant called Malnadu Kitchen in Kompally.
According to reports, EAGLE intercepted Surya near his restaurant and, upon searching his car, found narcotics including 10 grams of cocaine, 3.2 grams of OG Kush (ganja), and 1.6 grams of ecstasy pills.
The drugs were found hidden under the heel of the sandal, packed in a courier box from Delhi, which was concealed under the seat of the car. Surya started with using drugs for recreational purposes but later moved on to supplying them to others.
According to EAGLE, Surya’s suppliers included Indian nationals as well as Nigerian drug traffickers named Nick, Jerry, Dezmond, Stanley, and Prince operating from Delhi, Bangalore, and Goa.
He used to pay for the drugs through personal and commercial bank accounts, one also linked with a business entity called ‘Ternion Hospitality’.
He admitted to placing regular orders for cocaine and MDMA with a Nigerian national whose bank accounts were used to receive payments.
In return, cocaine and MDMA were dispatched via courier services, cleverly hidden in household items. The drugs were then stored in the entrepreneur’s car or restaurant premises for onward supply to consumers.
Surya also confessed to purchasing cocaine over 20 times between 2021 and 2025, and consuming it at upscale pubs in Hyderabad such as Prism Pub, Farm Pub, Block 22, Bird Box, Xora, Broadway, and Quake Arena.
EAGLE also stated that several of these pubs have come under scrutiny for facilitating drug consumption by allocating concealed or restricted areas for substance use.
A case under the NDPS Act was registered, and the accused has been remanded to judicial custody and investigation is ongoing to trace the financial flow, courier channel nexus, digital footprints, and role of pubs and commercial establishments.
(With inputs from agencies)
