Hyderabad Police Foil Jewellery Heist: Gang Tried to Drug Locals with Spiked Maaza Before Burglary

Hyderabad: In a dramatic operation, the Dabeerpura Police along with the Southeast Zone Task Force foiled a major burglary attempt and apprehended two men and a juvenile who allegedly planned to rob a jewellery shop in Chanchalguda by sedating nearby residents with drug-laced soft drinks.

According to the police, the accused — Sajjad Ahmed Khan (46), a civil engineer, and Syed Kabeer (34), a Rapido driver — along with a juvenile boy, were caught near Hanuman Temple in Kurmaguda on Saturday afternoon. The arrests were made following a complaint filed by Khaja Mujeebuddin Khan, whose brother runs Maroof Travels in Chanchalguda.

The complainant reported that an unidentified man had approached his brother’s travel agency on October 10, offering Maaza cool drink, claiming it was part of a goodwill gesture after completing a Quran recitation. Suspicious of the act, his brother declined, but several others who consumed the drink nearby reportedly fell unconscious for several hours.

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Investigations revealed that Sajjad Ahmed Khan, the prime accused, had masterminded a plan to break into Mujtaba Jewellers, a nearby store. To execute the burglary, he conspired with Syed Kabeer and the juvenile to sedate local residents before breaking into the shop through an adjoining wall. The gang procured power tools — including wall cutters, hammers, and wire cutters — from Jummerat Bazaar and purchased Meloset 0.3 mg sleeping tablets from a pharmacy in Hafeez Baba Nagar.

Police said the accused conducted a “trial run” on October 4 by mixing the tablets into a bottle of Maaza, which left those who consumed it unconscious for up to nine hours. A week later, posing as Jio tower technicians, they stored the tools in a room adjacent to the jewellery shop and distributed the sedative-laced drink again. Their burglary attempt, however, failed due to a sudden power outage.

A search led to the seizure of several incriminating materials including a white Honda Activa without a number plate, two Redmi mobile phones, a wall cutter, hammers, a drill machine, wire cutter, torch light, helmet, mask, and bottles of the drug-mixed Maaza along with Meloset tablets.

Police also confirmed that Sajjad Ahmed Khan is a habitual offender involved in multiple cases across the city, including extortion, cheating, and assault registered at Santosh Nagar, Maheshwaram, Pahadi Shareef, and Zaheerabad police stations.

The investigation is being led by SI N. Sudhakar of Dabeerpura Police Station and Inspector Saida Babu of the SEZ Task Force under the supervision of ACP K. Subba Rami Reddy (Malakpet Division), Addl. DCP K. Sreekanth (SEZ), and Addl. DCP Ande Srinivasa Rao (Task Force).

Police have registered a case under Sections 123, 309(5), and 311 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), corresponding to Sections 328, 393, and 397 of the IPC, and further investigation is underway.