As cops step up vigil, ganja prices hit Rs 60,000 a kg!
Hyderabad: With law enforcement agencies continuing the crackdown against those involved in ganja trade, prices of the contraband are reportedly soaring. A kilogram of good variety of ganja cultivated in the Vizag agency and Andhra Odisha Border (AOB) is priced anywhere around Rs.40,000 to Rs.60,000 a kilogram. Around six months ago, officials say, a kilogram […]
Hyderabad: With law enforcement agencies continuing the crackdown against those involved in ganja trade, prices of the contraband are reportedly soaring.
A kilogram of good variety of ganja cultivated in the Vizag agency and Andhra Odisha Border (AOB) is priced anywhere around Rs.40,000 to Rs.60,000 a kilogram. Around six months ago, officials say, a kilogram of ganja was priced between Rs.10,000 to Rs.25,000 a kilogram. The prices were even lower when there was no problems in supply.
“In recent times, ganja cultivators, suppliers, transporters and local peddlers suffered huge losses. Hundreds of them were arrested across Telangana by various law enforcement agencies. Hence supply came down and prices increased,” a senior police official said.
Ganja addicts are agreeing to pay good prices, it is learned, with the most sought variety being the ‘Sheelavathi’ variety, which is also being seized in huge quantities.
“It fetches good price for the smugglers and is considered better over other varieties. At the sale points itself, the prices have been hiked for this variety,” another official said.
A kilogram of the Sheelavathi variety is around Rs.30,000 a kilogram now in Vizag and surroundings while in Hyderabad, Pune and Bengaluru, it is sold at double that price, he added.
The other varieties supplied from Andhra Pradesh are the Raja Hamsa and Kala Pathri variety. Apart from Andhra Pradesh, ganja is also smuggled from Kerala and Himachal Pradesh but on a lower scale, a Excise department official said.
Despite the crackdown, local peddlers are adopting innovative ways to carry on with their activities. A couple of days ago, the police arrested a youngster from Dhoolpet who was supplying the contraband posing as a food delivery executive.
As against lorries and trucks, people are using high-end cars to smuggle the ganja into the city. “We even caught addicts who travelled all the way to the Andhra Odisha Border and purchased cannabis for personal consumption,” an Excise official said.
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