Tirupati Temple Employee Among 3 Arrested In Drug Bust

In a major crackdown on drug trafficking, Tirupati district police arrested three people and seized 62 grams of MDMA, also known as meth, worth around Rs 3 lakh.

In a shocking development, one of the arrested is a Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) employee. According to police, Rahul Yadav, 30, works as a Junior Assistant at the Govindaraja Swamy Temple under TTD. He was arrested along with Guna Sekhar, 26, and Ashwin Kumar, 30.

Police also seized four mobile phones, two digital weighing machines, and a Royal Enfield motorcycle from the accused.

According to police on July 9, officers noticed the three men behaving suspiciously in an empty parking area near Renigunta Railway Station. During a search, police recovered the MDMA drugs from their possession.

During questioning, the accused allegedly revealed that they procured the drugs from Bengaluru, transported them to Tirupati, repackaged the MDMA into smaller quantities, and sold it to customers in the Tirupati-Renigunta region for higher profits. 

Police are now examining the seized mobile phones to trace the Bengaluru-based supplier and identify others linked to the interstate drug network. 

A case has been registered under relevant provisions of the NDPS Act (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985), 1985. All three accused have been produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody. 

Police are also investigating the wider drug supply network and whether others are involved.

Tirupati District SP L. Subbarayudu appealed to the public to immediately report any information related to drug trafficking, sale, or consumption. He assured that the identities of informants will be kept confidential.