ED Raids Three Hyderabad Sites Linked to Ganja Kingpin Neetu Bai

The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday conducted searches at three locations in Hyderabad linked to alleged ganja racket kingpin Neetu Bai as part of a money-laundering investigation. The probe stems from drug cases registered by Telangana's Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement, with ED sources stating that the action forms part of nationwide enforcement under the Nasha Mukt Bharat campaign.

According to EAGLE records, Neetu Bai operated an alleged family-run retail ganja network out of her residence at Lodha Basthi in Nanakramguda. Agency FIRs state that her husband Munna Singh, sons Gautam and Govind, and her daughter assisted her in the packaging and sale of the contraband to buyers that included students, corporate employees, and gig workers.

In one case, an EAGLE surveillance team stationed outside her Nanakramguda home from 11 am on June 10 intercepted 49 people arriving to purchase ganja. The buyers were taken to the Indian Institute of Medical Health in Erragadda for testing, where 47 tested positive for THC while two tested negative. Neetu Bai fled after noticing police detaining customers in an adjoining lane.

Following her escape, police searched the house under Section 185 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and recovered Rs 2.6 lakh in cash hidden inside a green Ariel detergent box in a hall cupboard. Gowri Bai, the sister of Munna Singh, allegedly told investigators that the seized cash represented proceeds from ganja sales.

Neetu Bai remains listed as an absconding accused across multiple FIRs registered by the Cyberabad Narcotics Police Station. In a case registered on May 11 following the arrest of a private university student who admitted to buying ganja from her for two years, she was named as accused A-2. She was also listed as an absconding accused, A-4, in a June 15 case after restaurant cashier Mekala Praveen told police he was a regular buyer.

Police records show that the Gachibowli police had earlier invoked the Preventive Detention Act against Neetu Bai in 2025 over recurring drug-peddling offenses. She was released after securing relief from the Supreme Court within approximately four months of detention. The ED is now investigating whether the narcotics trade generated proceeds of crime that were concealed, possessed, or laundered under the provisions of the PMLA.