Video: Rs. 500 cr worth 2 lakh kgs of ganja set ablaze in Andhra Pradesh

Visakhapatnam: The Andhra Pradesh police destroyed two lakh kilograms of ganja worth Rs. 500 crores on 12 February. Never before has such a huge quantity of banned substances been destroyed in the country, they said.

The operation was jointly conducted by the Andhra Pradesh police and Special Enforcement of Bureau (SEB) in Anakapalle in Visakhapatnam on Saturday afternoon.

It should be noted that AP launched 'Operation Parivartan', a state-wide operation to stop the smuggling of cannabis in and out of the state, on 1 November 2021. It concluded on 8 February 2022.

Under Operation Parivartan, a total of 577 cases were registered and 1,500 people arrested; 363 cases were reported in Srikakulam, Vijayanagaram, Visakhapatnam Rural, and East Godavari districts. Out of the arrested people, 92 were from Tamil Nadu, 66 were from Odisha, and 63 were from Kerala.

As part of the operation, 47,986.34 kgs of cannabis, 46.41 litres of hashish oil, and 314 vehicles were seized. In 2021, 2,32,510 kgs of ganja were seized and in 2022, so far 13,872 kilos of ganja have been seized.

Since 2015, 7,991 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) cases have been recorded in Andhra Pradesh. In 2021, the state saw the highest number of NDPS cases, 2,184. In 2022, so far 165 cases have been recorded.