Excise enforcement officials seize 106 kg ganja, six firearms; Three arrested in Kothagudem

Enforcement officials of the Khammam Excise Department seized 106 kg of ganja worth Rs 53 lakh and six illegal firearms during vehicle checks in Paloncha. Three individuals were arrested, and the investigation revealed an interstate smuggling network.

Kothagudem: Khammam Prohibition and Excise Department’s enforcement officials seized ganja worth Rs 53 lakh along with six firearms in the district on Thursday.

During vehicle checks at Paloncha, the officials stopped a goods van and a car in which they found about 106 kg of ganja. Three persons travelling in the vehicles were taken into custody and questioned, excise officials said at a media briefing here.

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During questioning, the accused, Bilal VS of Ernakulam in Kerala, Shyam Sundar and Kasinandan Santosh of Tiruchi district in Tamil Nadu revealed that they procured ganja from Odisha to transport it to Trichy via Bhadrachalam, Kothagudem, Khammam and Chennai.

The investigation revealed that the gangsters in Kerala, along with the ganja transporters, were buying illegal weapons in Indore, Madhya Pradesh and transporting them to Kochi, Kerala. The seized firearms will be handed over to Paloncha police for further investigation.

A case was registered against the three accused, the two vehicles, Rs 35,500 cash, 40 bullets and 12 empty magazines were seized. One more accused, James from Trichy, who was Shyam Sundar’s partner in the crime, is absconding. The accused were sent to court for judicial remand.

Excise Commissioner C Hari Kiran, Enforcement Director Shahnawaz Qasim and Deputy Commissioner G Janardhan Reddy appreciated Assistant Commissioner G Ganesh, Inspector S Ramesh, Sub-Inspector Ch Srihari Rao and staff members Karim, Balu, Sudheer, Venkateswarlu, Hanumantha Rao, Vijay, Harish, Veerababu and Upender for catching the accused.