Hyderabad, September 05: In a major crackdown, Hyderabad’s East Zone Task Force sleuths busted a drug peddling racket being run through Grindr, a gay dating app, and arrested nine people, including two peddlers and seven consumers, on Thursday. Police seized 100 grams of MDMA and 10 mobile phones, with a combined value of nearly INR 15 lakh, from the accused.

The two key peddlers were identified as M Ramakanth alias Kiran (44), a private worker, and Mudavath Prasad (30), a vacuum cleaner technician. They operated by using code names like “rocket” and “pigeon” on their Grindr profiles to signal the availability of drugs. According to police, Ramakanth sourced MDMA from a Nigerian in Bengaluru for INR 4,000 a gram and resold it locally for almost double the price, assisted by Prasad. International Drug Racket Busted; Delhi Police Arrest 6 Persons, Including 2 Nigerian National; Seized Methamphetamine Worth INR 21 Crore.

Investigators revealed that Ramakanth, who had earlier contracted HIV due to unsafe sexual practices, built his customer base primarily through Grindr, catering to members of the LGBTQ community. Despite being arrested in July 2024 by Chilakalguda police on similar charges, the duo resumed drug peddling after securing bail. Drug Racket Busted in Hyderabad: EAGLE Busts Drug Racket at Mahindra University, 4 Held; Ganja and OG Weed Seized.

Based on their confession, police also detained seven consumers, including a 38-year-old general surgeon, a job consultant, and a sex worker. While the two peddlers will be produced before court for judicial remand, the consumers will face notices under the NDPS Act and be directed towards rehabilitation.

Task Force Additional DCP A Srinivasa Rao said the use of coded symbols on dating apps has made it challenging to track such illegal activities. However, he emphasised that surveillance and intelligence-based raids would continue to dismantle these networks.

Police urged citizens to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to help curb the growing menace of synthetic drugs in Hyderabad.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 05, 2025 11:01 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).