Four quintals ganja seized, eight arrested in Kothagudem

Authorities confiscated 400 kilograms of marijuana and apprehended eight individuals involved in its smuggling operation in Bhadrachalam district.

Kothagudem: Police seized four quintals of ganja and arrested eight persons smuggling the substance at Bhadrachalam in the district.

Speaking to the media here on Saturday, Superintendent of Police B Rohith Raju informed that Bhadrachalam Sub-Inspector of Police PVN Rao and staff as part of vehicle inspections checked a private bus and found ganja worth Rs 1 crore in the bus on Friday.

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The accused, acting like plastic household items sellers, have hidden the substance in plastic trays and doormats. They cut the bottom of the trays and middle part of doormats which were stacked together to hide ganja, which they procured at Kalimela of Malkangiri district in Odisha State.

The accused confessed to police that they bought ganja from suppliers Kola Anand alias Bujji and Bal Reddy. They were taking ganja to Hyderabad to sell locally, Rohith Raju said. Police would henceforth check all private buses passing through the district thoroughly to prevent ganja smuggling, he said.

The SP asked private travel operators to inform police if they found any passenger was found suspicious, otherwise their involvement would be suspected if ganja was seized in their vehicles. Focus was also being laid on local consumption of ganja, besides its smuggling and places where the youths were consuming psychotropic substances in the district, he noted.

Cases were booked against the accused, Baljith, Ravidas, Suraj Bhan, Ginna, Takdeer, Ram Meher, Sundar and Rajpathi, who belong to different places in Haryana State. Bhadrachalam ASP Paritosh Pankaj and others were present.