Hyderabad, Nov 6 : Suspected drug overdose claimed the life of a 28-year-old man in Hyderabad while two others, including his live-in partner, were taken ill, police said.

Ahmed Ali, a resident of the Kalapather area in the old city, succumbed while being shifted to a hospital by his friends in the early hours of Thursday.

According to the police, he had been staying in a rented flat in a gated community in Shivrampally along with his friend, identified as Zohra, 28, a native of Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool.

Ali, along with Zohra and his friend Syed Bin Salah, consumed drugs, including opium, at the flat on Wednesday. Ali reportedly began vomiting blood and collapsed. His friends tried to shift him to a hospital, but he died on the way.

Police shifted his body to the Osmania General Hospital for post-mortem examination. Drug overdose is suspected to have caused the death. Police have sent samples for forensic analysis to confirm the cause of death.

Zohra and Salah were also taken for medical examination and are said to be stable.

A case has been registered at the Rajendranagar police station of the Cyberabad Commissionerate.

Meanwhile, six persons, including three consumers, involved in the supply and distribution of the MDMA and ganja were arrested during a joint operation by Rajendranagar police and Special Operations Teams (SOT) of Rajendranagar and Madhapur zones.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Rajendranagar Zone, Yogesh Goutam, said 18 grams of MDMA, 130 grams of ganja and five mobile phones were seized from the accused.

Police arrested three suppliers near Aramghar X Road in Rajendranagar. They have been identified as Sangadi Santosh, 26, of Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh); Gandhi Sandeep, 23, of Bengaluru; and Kandepalli Shiva Kumar, 23, a lorry driver from Rajahmundry (Andhra Pradesh)

Acting on the information given by suppliers, the police arrested three consumers. They were identified as Palaka Sai Babu, 25, an IT employee from Rajahmundry; Kotha Vishal Reddy, 28, a private employee from Khajaguda; and Plishetty Sameer, 24, a photographer from KPHB.

According to police, the suppliers had a history of drug offences, with Santosh earlier being booked under the NDPS Act in Andhra Pradesh. The key supplier who coordinated the racket remains absconding.

According to police, the accused had connected with an unidentified drug source on Instagram, who coordinated deliveries through interstate peddlers. The gang transported 17 grams of MDMA and 150 grams of ganja from Bengaluru to Hyderabad, concealing the drugs in bags.

Upon reaching Aramghar X Road, Rajendranagar, they were intercepted and apprehended by the police. Acting on their confession, three consumers were later arrested in the same area.

All six accused have been remanded to judicial custody, while efforts are underway to trace the absconding supplier.

/IANS