War on drugs: In a first, police recover liquefied ganja in East Godavari
During a search, cops found liquefied ganja packed in two polythene bags each weighing one kg.
By Newsmeter Network Published on 27 Aug 2021 8:51 AM IST
Vijayawada: For the first time, police have seized liquefied ganja in Andhra Pradesh.
Acting on a tip-off, police intercepted a car at Chintur village in East Godavari district. During a search, cops found liquefied ganja packed in two polythene bags each weighing one kg. Its value is said to be Rs two lakh.
Police said the consignment was being transported to a destination in Hyderabad. Liquefied ganja has a huge demand in Hyderabad and five ml vial sells at Rs. 2,000.
Five persons including the driver were arrested. They have been identified as Mohammed Abid (26), Hammad Shakil (24), both from Telangana. Jaffer Hussain (39) is from Tamil Nadu but is presently staying in Hyderabad. Pongi Baburao and Korra Nagarjuna hail from Visakhapatnam district. Two kingpins are at large.
Superintendent of police V Ravindranath Babu said smugglers had converted ganja into liquid form in a bid to conceal and ship it from one place to another without any hassles.
"They went to Darakonda village in the car owned by Jaffer Hussain for buying liquefied ganja. They supply narcotics to their friends and other rich customers. Pongi Baburao and Korra Nagarjuna helped them in buying the contraband. All five have been arrested," he said.
The SP said Chintur police team, Chintur ASP G. Krishna Kant, circle Inspector Yuvakumar and sub-inspector B Yadagiri would be awarded commendation certificates for their swift action in nabbing the smugglers.
"East Godavari agency was being used as the corridor and transit point by the smugglers. Every effort is being made to put an end to illegal activity. Round-the-clock vigil is being kept on the highways especially in the agency area. No leniency would be shown against anti-socials," he added.
In a separate operation, police seized 807.7 kilograms of ganja worth Rs 16 lakh from a lorry at Devarapalli village on the national highway in West Godavari district.
Kovvur Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) P B Trinath said a police team led by Devarapalli SI K Srihari Rao was conducting vehicle checking near the Tobacco Board office at Devarapalli when they intercepted a lorry.
During a vehicle search, police recovered 26 plastic bags containing ganja. The DSP said 807.7 kilograms of ganja worth Rs.16,14,000 was being transported to Madurai in Tamil Naidu via Annavaram and Devarapalli.
Police seized the ganja, lorry and arrested the four people. The accused have been identified as P Suresh, Raman Prabhakaran, Suresh Hariharan and Bala Subramanyam.
