Hyderabad resident Syed Shahed Hussain had a rough start to the new year. After receiving a tip-off, the police arrested Hussain while he was selling marijuana on Jan. 01. While in policy custody, the 33-year-old revealed the source of his weed supply: potted plants lined up on the floor of his bedrooms.
When the authorities raided Hussain’s apartment in the commercial hub of Manikonda, they found that the marijuana enthusiast had converted his three-bedroom apartment into a weed farm of sorts. The police seized 8.6 kilograms of weed, along with 40 cannabis plant pots.
Hussain reportedly began growing weed three months ago. Before he discovered how to grow it himself, Hussain got his supplies from growers in Visakhapatnam, East Godavari and Tandur for Rs3,500 per kg and marked it up to Rs16,000 per kg for his Hyderabad customers. For tips on weed cultivation, he referred to YouTube videos. “He had locally purchased all the requirements and started cultivating Ganja (weed) in his house on a trial basis,” Hyderabad’s additional deputy commissioner of police, N Koti Reddy, told CNN News18.
Hussain’s homegrown cannabis crops were nurtured with scientific precision. Two of the rooms in his apartment were temperature-controlled with air conditioners and fans on swing mode circulating the air indoors. LED lights created the illusion of natural light. The police seized soil from areas in Visakhapatnam and Karnataka that are known for marijuana cultivation.
India’s Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, spells out a harsh punishment for anyone cultivating a cannabis plant: up to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment or a fine of Rs1 lakh ($1,464).