In a major breakthrough in the Hyderabad drug racket case, Telangana Excise authorities have arrested a Dutch national, an official said on Wednesday.
Prohibition and Excise Department's Director - Enforcement Akun Sabharwal said that Mike Kamminga was arrested late on Tuesday night and psychotropic substances were recovered from the 33-year-old.
Sabharwal, who is heading the probe, described it as an "important arrest" and that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) was recovering key information from the accused.
The Dutch national would be produced in court, he added.
Kamminga is the 20th accused to be arrested in the case, which caused quite a sensation as some Telugu film industry personalities allegedly have links with the accused.
Actress Charmme Kaur was on Wednesday questioned by SIT officials for her alleged links with Calvin Mascarenhas, believed to be the kingpin of racket. She was the seventh Tollywood celebrity to be questioned in the case.
Kamminga, who was on his fourth visit to India, is being considered as a key link in the supply of drugs from European countries to the accused already arrested in the case.
Those already arrested include US citizen Dundu Anish -- an aerospace engineer who had earlier worked with NASA, and seven B.Tech graduates, most of whom were working for multi-national companies.
The investigators have found that the peddlers sold drugs to students of several colleges and schools in Hyderabad, some Tollywood celebrities and even techies.
The Dutch national was reportedly working for a software company in Hyderabad. His arrest came even as Information Technology Department officials alerted some IT firms whose employees were using narcotics.
Jayesh Ranjan, Secretary-IT, told reporters on Wednesday that some companies were advised to take the necessary precautionary measures. He, however, did not reveal the names of the firms. The official said only the authorities concerned had the names of the techies using drugs.
The IT Secretary said it should not be seen as a major problem as only 10 to 20 employees out of the four lakh employees in the IT sector in Hyderabad were found to be indulging in illegal activity.
The authorities have recovered 3,000 units of LSD, 105 grams of MDMA, 45 grams of cocaine and other narcotic and psychotropic substances from the accused arrested so far.
The SIT has summoned 12 Tollywood celebrities for questioning in the case as their contact details were found in the call data of Calvin.
The key accused was allegedly getting drugs from some European countries through courier companies and even the Postal Department of India.
The SIT has already summoned officials of three leading courier firms for questioning and sought cooperation from the Postal Department in the investigations.
The investigating team also questioned owners of pubs and bars in the city, some businessmen and others linked with the case.
--IANS
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