Hyderabad: A suspected hashish oil peddler arrested after weeks of surveillance and caught allegedly packing narcotics for retail sale escaped from Narsingi police custody within hours of his arrest, triggering a manhunt.The accused, Syed Mohammed Muzaffar Ali (30) of Golconda, was apprehended on the night of June 29 by the Eagle Force and Narsingi police during a raid on a lodge in Alkapuri Township. However, he allegedly escaped from the police station lock-up later the same night. Two criminal cases have since been registered against him.Police said Muzaffar was already an accused in three Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act cases registered by Film Nagar, Rajendranagar and Ghatkesar excise authorities.Acting on intelligence that he was procuring hashish oil from a Visakhapatnam-based supplier and distributing it in Hyderabad, Eagle Force sleuths monitored his activities for more than two months. On June 29, they, along with Narsingi police, raided Zestora Lodge and allegedly caught him red-handed while packing hashish oil into five-gram containers for retail sale.During the operation, police seized 944 grams of hashish oil, valued at around Rs 4 lakh.Muzaffar was taken to Narsingi police station, where a suo motu NDPS case was registered against him, his mother Rahimunnisa, brother Mazhar Ali, supplier Laha Kumari and six alleged customers.According to police, at around 11 pm, Muzaffar requested permission to use the toilet. While being escorted, he allegedly escaped through a grill-less ventilator, scaled the compound wall and fled.A separate case was subsequently registered against him under section 262 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for resisting lawful apprehension.Investigators believe that after escaping, Muzaffar took a cab claiming he had been robbed, travelled towards Attapur and used the driver’s phone to alert his mother.Police have reportedly detained his mother and brother for questioning. Special teams have been deployed to trace Muzaffar, who remains absconding.
