SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Hyderabad: Telangana’s anti-narcotics unit, in a joint operation with Bhadradri Kothagudem Police, seized 525 kg of ganja worth Rs 2.62 crore and apprehended four persons, including a minor, while they were allegedly transporting the contraband from Andhra Pradesh to Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Tuesday, June 30.
The Regional Narcotics Control Cell (RNCC) of the Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE) Force, Khammam, intercepted a container lorry and an escort motorcycle in Sarapaka, Burgampahad, the police said.
Acting on a tip-off, the team had been tracking the vehicles’ movement from Tulasipaka in Andhra Pradesh before the interception, an official said.
Three accused and a minor were taken into custody, while four others believed to be the intended recipients of the consignment in Uttar Pradesh are absconding, the police added.
How the racket operated
According to police, the ganja was sourced from the Allurikota forest area in Odisha by accused Sahadev Hantal, who hired labourers to ferry the contraband to Tulasipaka in Andhra Pradesh.
It was then loaded into a container lorry owned by two of the absconding accused, who had allegedly modified the vehicle with a concealed partition to evade detection by law enforcement agencies, the police said.
The consignment was being moved via Bhadrachalam, Khammam, Warangal and Adilabad in Telangana, and onward through Maharashtra, before its intended delivery in Uttar Pradesh, officials said.
Police seized the container lorry, a Bajaj Pulsar motorcycle used as an escort vehicle, five mobile phones and cash of Rs 10,570 from the accused.
A case has been registered at Burgampahad police station, and a search is on to trace the absconding accused, the police said.
The arrested have been identified as Sahadev Hantal, 20, of Odisha’s Malkangiri district, Dogri Thrinadh, 38, of Andhra Pradesh’s Alluri Sitharamaraju district, and Kuldhip Sharma, 27, of Uttar Pradesh, who were allegedly working as supplier, escort and driver respectively.
EAGLE Force officials appealed to parents to monitor their children’s activities and urged the public to report drug-related information on its toll-free number 1908, saying all information would be kept confidential and informants suitably rewarded.
SOURCE : SIASAT
