Four years ago, Patruni Sai Krishna (23), was a bright engineering student, studying IT in a reputed corporate engineering college. He passed out in 2013 with 6.2 CGPA. But today, he is not only a drug addict but to feed his habit, he has become a drug peddler.

He was apprehended by the City Task Force (CTF) on Tuesday, along with three others. The others arrested were Kakara Pdyiraju (38), Telugu Balakrishna (18) and Yenukapalli Shiva Kumar (22).

Apart from Sai Krishna, Shiva Kumar is also a 2013 engineering passout and is an addict and peddler of Fortwin injections.

Based on information, the CTF conducted a raid near the Fishing Jetty in the Old Town area and arrested the four and seized about 1,140 ampoules of Fortwin injection.

Narrating his first encounter with the anaesthetic injection, which is today the hottest selling drug amidst college students in the city, Sai Krishna informed The Hindu that it all started during a combined study session , in his second year engineering.

“I was offered by a friend one night and it slowly turned into a habit. Not only me there were about 20 from our college in the group,” he said.

According to the Assistant Commissioner of Police (CTF) Chittibabu, both the engineers Sai and Shiva turn peddlers to fund their addiction.

“Each ampoule in the market cost about Rs. 5, but peddlers sell them for over Rs. 200. And since most of them are from middle class background they turn peddlers,” said Mr. Chittibabu.

In the case of Sai and Shiva, they were harboured to peddlers by Pydiraju. “Both of them served as courier agents.

They would go to Khurda or Bhadrak in Odisha and procure the injections and retain one or two boxes and sell the rest on behalf of Pydiraju,” said CTF Inspector Ilyas Mohammed.

According Sai, most of the clientele are students of engineering and professional colleges and majority of them need about four to five ampoules a day.

Mr. Chittibabu told The Hindu that this was for the first time that engineers were caught peddling. All the four were booked under sections 328 and 336 of IPC.