Medical PG student’s rented room turns into drug storage and sales hub

A rented room of a post-graduate doctor from Gandhi Hospital’s Forensic Department turned into a storage and distribution point for narcotics in Hyderabad.

The accused, identified as Dr. Joseph Paul, 29, hails from Tenali in Andhra Pradesh, and is a final-year post-graduate student in forensic medicine, posted at the Gandhi Hospital mortuary, was arrested after State Task Force (STF) officials seized synthetic and imported narcotics worth around ₹3 lakh from his Musheerabad residence.

Investigators said that Paul, who was drawing a stipend of ₹60,000 a month, became addicted to narcotics during his postgraduate training. “He first tried ganja during his early days at the Gandhi Hospital hostel,” said Sub-Inspector Balaraju of the STF-B team. “Over time, his dependency grew, and he started associating with three childhood friends — Pramod, also a doctor, Sandeep and Sarath, both private employees — who were already involved in peddling.”

“When he enrolled in the course, he was allotted a hostel room inside Gandhi Hospital,” said Balaraju, who led the operation. “However, about 1-1.5 years back, he rented a private PG room in Musheerabad, from where he managed the drug supply operation,” the official said.

The trio, all residents of Hyderabad, who had been procuring narcotics from Bengaluru and Delhi, used Paul’s rented room to store the consignments. “Since they lived with their families, they needed a discreet space. Paul’s room became a transit hub,” the official said. In exchange, the doctor was allowed to consume a portion of the drugs for free while managing deliveries and payments on their behalf.

Paul would spend most of his off-duty hours in the rented room. He used his hospital hostel room only to freshen up between classes or duty hours.

Investigators found that Paul distributed drugs on instruction, collecting cash and keeping a small share for himself. “For every gram of MDMA, for example, he would take 0.2 grams to consume and pass on the rest to customers adding the packet weight,” exlplained Mr. Balaraju.

Following credible intelligence, the STF raided his rented room and recovered 26.95 grams of OG Kush, 6.21 grams of MDMA, 15 LSD sticks, 1.32 grams of cocaine, 5.80 grams of ganja-laced gummies, and 0.008 grams of hashish oil.

During interrogation, Paul confessed to having travelled to Bengaluru twice to procure drugs but admitted most supplies were arranged by his associates. Police have also identified at least 10 regular customers linked to the group, who are now under watch. “Their chats across social media platforms and long trail of transactions are being verified to ascertain the period of operations as well as the customers,” said the official.

The three prime accused remain absconding. A case has been registered against all four under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and further investigation is under way.