Andhra Pradesh: How drug smugglers are using Google Maps to evade police

Earlier cannabis was smuggled in large quantities. Now, drugs in smaller quantities are being smuggled from Vizag city to evade law enforcement agencies.

Apart from the Police department, Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB), RPF, Government Railway Police, and the DRI are involved in the war against drugs. The enforcement agencies deploy men at strategic locations to curb cannabis smuggling.

Some ganja gangs from the Andhra Odisha Border (AOB) and Koraput region of Odisha are smuggling small quantities of the weed (10 kgs and 20 kgs of packets) to Vizag either using highways or trains. The groups are using technology such as Google Maps and others to choose routes that are less frequented by enforcement agencies.

“Parts of Vizag city have emerged as transit points for ganja. We have noticed that the inter-state smugglers visit Vizag city and collect the small quantities of cannabis from local or Odisha groups and they transport the weed to other cities, where the demand for Sheelavathi variety cannabis is high,” said a senior police officer in Vizag city.

ACP (Task Force), Vizag city, A Trinadha Rao said they have seized over ten inter-state gangs and seized small quantities of cannabis from them in the past few months. “Our investigation has revealed that the inter-state smugglers and ganja suppliers are using some technology and code language to collect the cannabis from a particular point in Vizag city. The recent incidents clearly indicate that cannabis is being smuggled in small quantities instead of large quantities. We have been coordinating with other departments to bust the cannabis smuggling incidents,” he said

With the enforcement agencies continuing the crackdown against smugglers, the price of Ganja from parts of the ASR district and Andhra Odisha Border (AOB) has increased by over 60 to 80 percent in the big cities of Andhra Pradesh and metros.

“A 10 gm of sheelavathi variety of cannabis is priced anywhere around Rs 500 to Rs 600 in Vizag city. Around a year ago, 10 gms of cannabis was priced between Rs200 and Rs300 in Vizag city,” said a senior officer with Task Force Police Station in Vizag city.

KEY POINTS

Sheelavathi weed sells between Rs 50,000 and Rs one lakh per kg in the cities and metros.

Ganja trade or cultivation is not new in the tribal pockets and along AOB.

The Ganja crop is being grown extensively (around 75 percent of the total cultivation) in the AOB region

AP police destroyed over 2.45 lakh seized ganja in 2022