Goemkarponn desk
HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad city police, who had arrested Tamil Nadu-based drug kingpin Balamurugan in Goa, is digging deep into his web of clients.
Like his close Goan associate Edwin Nunes, who was also arrested recently, police have found that his clientele is spread in five states.
Prima facie it was found that his clients are spread in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Goa and Maharashtra, apart from Hyderabad, said DCP (Narcotics) IPS G Chakravarthy.
However, officials from Hyderabad Narcotics Enforcement Wing (H-NEW), who arrested him, could not seize any material evidence from him.
It was found that the two (Balmurugan & Edwin) have been running the business successfully for over a decade now.
Taking a cue from Edwin, he started operations in Hyderabad, where with his network of agents, Balamurugan established strong links and started supporting Edwin’s activities.
While Edwin is into the supply of synthetic drugs, Balamurugan is into ganja and hash oil, inquiries revealed.
Except in Telangana, Balamurugan owns hotels in all states where he runs his drug business’.
“For more than 10 years, Murugan has been smuggling charas in Apple Crates into Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Tami Nadu. The majority of the stock, however, was sold locally in Goa. He also used to barter charas for synthetic drugs with other suppliers like charas.
The officer said Murugan has been peddling charas since it has good demand in Goa, especially among foreign tourists.
“He bought it from Himachal Pradesh and a few other places at Rs 5 lakh per kg and sold it for Rs 30 lakh. In the past, he was arrested by Rajasthan police after being part of a cocaine supply network. Later, he moved his base to Goa.” the officer told Goemkarponn.
Apart from Goa, Murugan – a native of Tamil Nadu – also owns hotels in Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.
Edwin’s Properties On HNEW Radar…
Sources in Hyderabad police have said that they have written letters to different departments in Goa to seek details about the alleged benami properties owned by Edwin and his family members.
“This is being done to initiate the process of attaching those properties. We have details about six properties, including three palatial houses Edwin owned. These were obviously bought from the money earned through drug peddling,” the source stated.
The instruction given to H-NEW to attach Edwin’s properties has been issued by Hyderabad police Commissioner CV Anand.
