Bengaluru-based MBA, inspired by Lord Shiva, grows ganja in fish tanks at home with LED lights

A 35-year-old Iran citizen was arrested by the Central Crime Branch on Tuesday morning from a private villa near Bidadi on the outskirts of Bengaluru for growing cannabis using a hydroponic model. Cops were shocked to see what the accused, Javad Rostampour, who had come to Bengaluru in 2010, was up to in his mansion and revealed that a detailed interrogation unveiled a story that would probably be discussed for a long time. According to the authorities, Javad had come to Bengaluru in 2010 to study. He completed his MBA from a private college in Kalyan Nagar and moved into a house in Kammanahalli. Over a period of time, he was inclined towards Lord Shiva and his connection with marijuana. About three years ago, he started using drugs and eventually began supplying them to his friends and other sources. A senior police official, who refused to be named, said that Javad was a “very clever guy”. He, according to the official, had bought a few books on marijuana and also did an extensive online research on cannabis — from the way to process it and other related things — for over six months. About a year ago, when the city police busted a huge drug racket in Bengaluru, Javad was scared and he shifted base from Kamanahalli to Bidadi. During the lockdown, he found it difficult to source drugs and this is when his research and knowledge came handy. Sensing an opportunity, he decided to grow his own cannabis during the lockdown and mint money. He set up a hydroponic model to grow cannabis in his house; he ordered multiple LED lights, necessary chemicals to process the drug and 60 seeds via the dark web from Europe. He put the first seed in his fish tank and in a short while, the seeds sprouted giving hope to Javad. [caption id=“attachment_10009521” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  According to the cops, Javad had around 130 cannabis plants in his home and he had researched how to grown them through books and the internet[/caption] He took good care of his plants and started harvesting them. His friends helped him supply the hydro-ganja to customers. According to Joint Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch, Bengaluru City, Sandeep Patil, Javad grew a total of 130 plants and had a very sophisticated set-up for them. Each gram of this drug costs around Rs 3,000- 4,000. His downfall occurred when the police arrested two youths in DJ Halli on the pretext of transporting drugs. They turned out to be Javad’s friends and they revealed the source of drugs as his house. Following this information, police raided the villa and found an entire plantation. Four drug peddlers were arrested in connection to this case out of which two were Iranians overstaying on student visas, confirmed Patil.