10 drug peddlers smuggling 240kg of ganja worth Rs 90L arrested by Rachakonda cops

Hyderabad: Ten interstate drug peddlers were arrested on Friday and 240kg of ganja was seized from them. They were transporting the drugs from Narsipatnam in Andhra Pradesh to Maharashtra via Hyderabad.

Besides the ganja, cash worth Rs. 8 lakh, a lorry, two cars, and mobile phones – all worth Rs. 90 lakh – were seized from the gang.

On the morning of 17 December, sleuths of the LB Nagar zone special operations team (SOT) along with the Vanasthalipuram police arrested Shivan Krishnan (47), Angadi Upender (46), Santosh Agarwal (44), Tejas Kumar (36), Mohmood Shameer (35), Hareesh Pookkutty (31), Sumesh (30), Shaik Zilani (25), Adigela Prakash (23), and Noolu Paul Daniel (24). The supplier, Subba Rao (32), is absconding.

Shivan Krishnan is from Kerala but had migrated to Odisha looking for a job. Earlier, he had worked for ganja suppliers, including Subba Rao, and helped in packing and transportation of ganja. Angadi Upender, too, had been involved in the drug business earlier and two cases were registered against him in 2015 and 2016 in Rajahmundry and Khammam, respectively. Santosh and Tejas sold ganja in different places of Maharashtra while Shameer and Hareesh were lorry drivers who transported the drug and Sumesh was their helper.

Shivan and his associates Shaik Zilani, Adigela Prakash, and Noolu Paul Daniel procured 240 kg of ganja from Subba Rao, packed them in 110 packets containing 2-2.5 kg ganja each, and dumped them in the forest of the Narsipatnam agency area. Shivan was looking for a vehicle to transport the contraband to Hyderabad and became acquainted with Shameer, Hareesh, and Sumesh.

Shivan offered to pay them Rs.50,000 and the three loaded the ganja in their lorry. They left Narsipatnam on the evening of 16 December. Shivan and his associates were following the lorry.

Meanwhile, Angadi Upender informed Santosh and Tejas about the arrival of the ganja and the duo came to Hyderabad and brought cash Rs. 8 lakh. They were waiting to collect the ganja at Auto Nagar under the limits of Vanasthalipuram police station.

Based on specific information from the CI cell, Hyderabad, the joint team of SOT LB Nagar zone and the Vanasthalipuram police caught the 10 drug peddlers and seized the ganja. They said the gang was purchasing ganja at Rs. 8,000 per kg and selling it to needy customers at Rs. 15,000 per kg.