75-yr-old woman peddler held; sells ganja worth Rs 1 lakh a day
Hyderabad: EAGLE sleuths raided a house in Fatehnagar late on Thursday and arrested a 75-year-old woman allegedly involved in drug peddling, who is estimated to have been selling ganja worth about Rs 1 lakh a day to more than 200 customers. The team also booked 70 consumers, 65 of whom tested positive for ganja consumption. Acting on a tip-off received at around 8 pm on Thursday that ganja was being sold round-the-clock from a house near Fathenagar Railway Station, a team of EAGLE sleuths, along with CLUES team, raided the premises at about 10:45 pm. “Five customers were found inside the house, while another 65 were intercepted outside as they approached the premises to buy ganja. Police seized 41 pouches of ganja, weighing about 179 grams. Jathen Bee confessed that she had been selling ganja since 2017 to cope with financial problems, according to police. A suo motu case was registered under the NDPS Act against Jathen Bee and 75 others on Friday. The 65 consumers who tested positive will undergo rehabilitation at de-addiction centres. She was earlier arrested in seven NDPS cases registered at different police and excise stations in the city between 2017 and 2025.
The main peddler, Shaik Jathen Bee, tried to shut the door upon seeing the team, according to police. Three of those customers are minors,” an official said. “She has been charging Rs 500 for a five-gram pouch and named her family members being involved in the business,” police said. Five of her relatives, including her daughter, have also been named as accused and they are absconding, police said. We will initiate proceedings to book her under PD Act and attach her assets,” an official said.
“Jathen’s operation is similar to that of another notorious peddler Neetu Bai, who operated from Nanakramguda. We will seek Jathen’s police remand to identify her assets. Jathen Bee was produced before a local court and sent to judicial remand on Friday.