Cocaine, cartels and pubs: Inside Hyderabad’s high-society drug network

Dubai: In a sweeping crackdown that has rocked Hyderabad’s elite social circuit, Telangana’s newly launched Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE), along with Cyberabad police, has exposed a sprawling, high-end narcotics network operated by educated entrepreneurs, fuelled by international cartels, and deeply embedded in the city’s hospitality scene.

At the centre of this criminal web is 34-year-old Surya Annamaneni — an engineering graduate with an MBA in marketing — who once appeared to be just another rising restaurateur.

But behind the façade of his popular Kompally eatery, Malnadu Kitchen, Annamaneni allegedly ran a sophisticated drug distribution ring, sourcing cocaine, ecstasy and OG Kush through couriers and digital channels from Nigerian traffickers and Indian suppliers.

Acting on a tip-off, EAGLE apprehended Annamaneni outside his restaurant on July 7. What they found stunned investigators.

Hidden inside a woman’s sandal, packed in a pink cardboard box marked under the alias “Fatima,” were two packets of cocaine — part of a shipment couriered from Delhi. Additional drugs were stashed on the dashboard of his SUV, including 10 grams of cocaine, 3.2 grams of OG Kush, and 1.6 grams of ecstasy pills.

This was no small-time operation. Investigators soon uncovered a meticulously planned supply chain connecting Delhi, Bengaluru, Goa, and Hyderabad’s nightlife hubs. Annamaneni admitted to procuring drugs over 20 times since 2021, often using them at exclusive parties and distributing them to a clientele that included techies, doctors, gym trainers, and pub owners.

The syndicate’s financial operations were equally elaborate. Payments totaling Rs1.39 lakh from Annamaneni’s restaurant-linked company, Ternion Hospitality, and another Rs41,000 in cash withdrawals were traced to Nigerian national Nick’s accounts in Canara and HDFC Banks. In return, narcotics were discreetly couriered in household items to avoid detection — some stashed in sandals, others hidden in everyday packaging.

EAGLE’s investigation has spotlighted a troubling alliance between nightlife venues and drug networks.

Annamaneni named several prominent pubs — including Prism, Farm Pub, Block 22, Bird Box, Broadway, Xora, and Quake Arena — where drugs were allegedly consumed in "restricted or concealed" zones, raising serious questions about management complicity.

So far, six people have been arrested, including Annamaneni and five businessmen involved in restaurants, hotels, and pubs. But the network runs deeper.

Police are now hunting 19 more suspects, including doctors, real estate professionals, tech executives, and pub directors. All face charges under multiple sections of the NDPS Act, and those arrested have been remanded to judicial custody.

EAGLE’s lead investigator, SP Chennuri Roopesh, called it one of Hyderabad’s most complex narcotics busts — a case where intelligence, affluence, and digital savvy converged to mask a deeply rooted criminal enterprise.

This operation has lifted the veil on a disturbing truth: behind the glitter of Hyderabad’s high-end lounges and luxury lifestyles lies a dark underbelly of addiction, trafficking, and international crime. As EAGLE continues its investigation — tracing digital footprints, financial trails and courier routes — more layers of this network are expected to unfold.

Hyderabad’s drug war is no longer confined to shady corners — it’s now in the boardrooms, clubs and curated Instagram lives of the city’s elite.