Aspiring Teacher Busted for Smuggling Pot to Pay for Entrance Exam Tutor

Aspiring teacher Muthem Babitha recently learned a bitter lesson—that the road to hell is paved with good intentions—when she was arrested, along with her family members, for smuggling marijuana in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Babitha, 25, from port city Visakhapatnam, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh on the Bay of Bengal, and two accomplices, her cousin Sunil Kumar, 20, also from Visakhapatnam, and Bidyasagar Singh, 25, from Odisha, were held by the Secunderabad Railway police officers last week, with 100 kg of marijuana, broken up into 15 and 20 kg packets, worth approximately $23,323, (15 lakh) reported the Deccan Chronicle.

Despite the ambitiousness of their endeavor, they’re not seasoned smugglers. In fact, it was their first attempt, and meant to be a means to an end.

The smuggler’s plan was to send selfies via text message to their counterparts in Solapur, who would then recognize them at the railway station, collect the marijuana, pay them their fee and give them return tickets, Secunderabad Railway deputy superintendent of police, Rajendra Prasad told the Hindu.

The trio were offered approximately $78 each (5,000 rupees) to deliver the drugs from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh to Solapur in Maharashtra, the Hindu reported. They could earn up to $156 (10,000 rupees), depending on the destination of the drop.

The amateur smugglers packed the marijuana in individual 15 – 20 kg packets, wrapped them with tape and hid them in baggage carts. They were then covered with camphor, incense and highly-flammable naphthalene moth balls to camouflage the smell. They boarded the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express, a daily express train service from Indian Railways, leaving Visakhapatnam.

The trio were nabbed by police on arrival in Secunderabad station, without ever meeting their handlers to make the drop. There is no word as to who tipped off the authorities.

Babitha is an educated woman. She earned a Bachelor’s of Education degree and was hoping to get a government job as a teacher. She wanted to appear for the District Selection Committee entrance exam; however, she unfortunately did not have enough money to afford private tutors in order to prepare for it.

She confessed to the local authorities that she had agreed to smuggle marijuana, simply so she could quickly be able to pay for her tutor.

Three years ago, Babitha fell on hard times when her husband, Ganesh, left her for another woman after less than a month of marriage. More seasoned smugglers exploited her financial needs and recruited her.

A case has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act against the three accused.

Is anyone else tempted to set up a Go-Fund-me page for her release and DSC tutor?

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