MBA student smuggled MDMA on train to Vijayawada or ₹50,000 commission, police say

MBA student Yerramsetti Naga Sowmya, who was caught with MDMA by the Government Railway Police (GRP) and EAGLE at Vijayawada railway station on October 14, had allegedly procured the contraband from a Nigerian in Bengaluru, police sources said.

EAGLE and GRP personnel arrested Sowmya, a native of Patamata in Vijayawada, after she reached the city on the Bengaluru-Howrah Express.

Investigation revealed that Sowmy’s friend, Venkata Sai Vardhan, is in jail after being named an accused in a similar case. She allegedly took ₹50,000 as commission from a drug dealer, Sheikh Basheer, for smuggling MDMA from Bengaluru to Vijayawada.

“Sowmya allegedly collected 110 grams of MDMA worth ₹11 lakh from Nigerian national Andola Noel at Yelahanka in Bengaluru before boarding a train to Vijayawada. She planned to hand over the drug to Basheer,” an investigating officer told The Hindu.

The police seized the mobile phones of Sowmya and Basheer.

“We are trying to trace the suppliers and clients through the social media platforms used by the accused,” said a GRP official.

Published – 18 Oct 2026 20:31 IST