Hyderabad, March 4 (NationPress) – In a significant crackdown, the police of Hyderabad, collaborating with the Hyderabad Narcotic Enforcement Wing (H-NEW), apprehended a foreign drug dealer along with his accomplice, successfully confiscating MMDA from their possession.

Acting on reliable intelligence, law enforcement launched a coordinated operation that led to the arrest of Al-Aqar Abdurabu Mohammed Abdurabu, a Yemeni citizen, and his partner, Hasan W. A. Hashem, a Palestinian, in the jurisdiction of the Rajendra Nagar Police Station.

Authorities recovered 150 grams of MDMA, a knife, and four mobile devices, all valued at around Rs 25 lakh, from the suspects.

A formal case has been filed against them under the NDPS Act, 1985, and Section 14 of the Foreigners Act.

The 37-year-old Abdurabu was residing in the Tolichowki district of Hyderabad and had been implicated in six previous cases involving the NDPS Act at various police stations across the city.

Between 2019 and 2022, he was arrested in six separate incidents and was evading capture in two cases from 2023 and 2026.

His accomplice, 28-year-old Hasan Hashem, who creates content related to the game Ludo, was living in Bengaluru.

Hasan was also previously involved in a case under the NDPS Act and the Foreigners Act in 2022 in Yelahanka New Town, Bengaluru.

According to S. Srinivas, Deputy Commissioner of Police for the Rajendra Nagar Zone, Abdurabu, originally a drug user, transitioned into a peddler. He sourced narcotics like MDMA and cocaine from a fugitive Nigerian supplier at lower prices by placing orders via WhatsApp and making online payments.

Hasan played a significant role in helping Abdurabu collect drugs from the supplier and sell them at inflated prices in both Bengaluru and Hyderabad. They sometimes employed a dead-drop method for distribution, while on other occasions, they made direct deliveries to familiar consumers to maximize profits and sustain an extravagant lifestyle. At times, drugs were even sent to peddlers based in Hyderabad via private travel buses.

The police investigation uncovered that Abdurabu first arrived in India in 2008 on a tourist visa, spending two months in Pune. He returned in 2009 on a student visa to pursue a BCA at Bharath College, Pune, but left the program. In 2011, he moved to Hyderabad and enrolled at Sikkim Manipal University, which he also abandoned.

Abdurabu returned to Yemen in 2012 and re-entered India in August 2015 on a student visa, landing at RGI Airport in Hyderabad. His visa expired on September 4, 2015, but he later extended it until December 31, 2016, from Yemen. His passport expired on April 16, 2020. He attempted to enroll in a B.Tech program in Computer Science at JNTU, Hyderabad, but dropped out in his second year and subsequently underwent training in various tech applications in the city.

During his time in Hyderabad, he met a drug supplier from Delhi, Chidi, through another Palestinian, Saeed Ali Mohammad Al Kafri, who was arrested by H-NEW in 2024. Abdurabu sheltered Chidi for about eight months until Chidi was apprehended by police.

Due to his persistent drug use and the desire for a lavish lifestyle, Abdurabu became a drug peddler. He faced multiple arrests in NDPS cases by Ameerpet Excise Station and M.G. Road Police in Bengaluru, resulting in various periods of judicial custody. It was during one of these durations that he connected with Hasan, and together they engaged in drug trafficking to facilitate a luxurious lifestyle.