Ganja worth Rs 2.5 crore seized in Kothagudem; two held

Kothagudem police seized 499 kg of ganja worth Rs 2.5 crore and arrested two smugglers from Maharashtra and Karnataka. The contraband, sourced from Nellipaka in Andhra Pradesh, was being transported to Rajasthan. Two others linked to the case are absconding

Kothagudem: The district police seized ganja worth Rs 2.50 crore and arrested two smugglers at Vepalagadda in Sujatha Nagar mandal on Monday.

Speaking to the media, Superintendent of Police B Rohith Raju said ganja weighing 499 kg was found in a container truck during vehicle checks by SI Rama Devi and her staff.

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Cases were registered against the accused, Jagadish Dayaram Patil of Jalgaon district in Maharashtra and Sanju Kumar of Bidar district in Karnataka. They had procured the contraband from the Nellipaka forest area in Andhra Pradesh and were transporting it to Jaipur in Rajasthan.

Cases were also booked against the ganja purchaser, Amit Rohidas Patil of Maharashtra, and the seller, Hari of Odisha, who are absconding. The truck and two mobile phones were seized along with the ganja, the SP said.

He added that Dayaram Patil was caught by Paderu police in Andhra Pradesh in April 2024 for smuggling ganja along with two others, while Sanju Kumar was earlier caught by Aurad police in Bidar in a similar case.

The SP appreciated CCS CI Ramakanth, SIs Praveen, Rama Rao and staff, SI Rama Devi and her team, case investigating officer CI R Venkateshwarlu, and supervising officer DSP Kothagudem for catching the ganja-laden truck.

The district police had also seized 222 kg of ganja worth Rs 1.10 crore in Aswaraopet a couple of days ago from a car coming from Jangareddygudem in Eluru district of Andhra Pradesh. Two accused, Sarin Kumar of Hyderabad and Babar Khan of Bellampalli, were arrested in that case.