Sellers use hashtags, emojis to indicate what they stock

While officials of Excise Department claim that this is the first case where they have caught youth openly advertising on social media, the city police and Special Operations Team (SOT) have busted similar rackets before, one of them being a doctor who was operating from his Instagram account.

“Being a globally known name, such well established companies should make sure their employees are not drug addicts and should keep a tab on their activities too,” an official from the Special Operations Teams (SOT) said.

Rachakonda Police had earlier raided a house in Bahadurpura area where a city-based doctor Mohammed Sujath Ali Khan was running a drug racket through his Instagram account which had 1,800 followers where he advertised his ‘stuff’, including chocolates laced with weed, before sending them out across India.

“He had over 3,000 customers across the country. His price range was from `500 per piece of chocolate to `1,800 per piece,” SOT Inspector Naveen Kumar said, adding that Khan had been procuring ganja from peddlers in Dhoolpet area and bought chocolates and other ingredients from general stores.

“IT officials should keep an eye on their employees and should conduct sessions, explaining ill effects of these drugs and ask employees not to use any of them,” he said. Sellers use hashtags and emojis to indicate what they stock, says an SOT official.

Speaking about the mandatory background verification done by the IT companies, a senior Amazon employee on condition of anonymity said, “Companies start verification by calling the last employer. They even look into public databases (criminal records) and also dig into education records to verify your degrees and certificates.