Police seize ganja worth Rs.2.05 crore, arrests four in Kothagudem

Kothagudem police seized 408.185 kg of ganja worth Rs 2.05 crore from a container truck and arrested four smugglers. The drugs were smuggled from a forest area in Andhra Pradesh. Police said strict action would continue against offenders

Kothagudem: The district police seized ganja worth Rs 2.05 crore and arrested four smugglers transporting the substance in a container truck on Thursday.

Speaking to the media, Superintendent of Police B Rohith Raju informed that Chunchupalli and CCS police, during vehicle checks, stopped a two-wheeler and the truck going from Kothagudem towards Khammam. When the container was checked, it was found that 408.185 kg of banned cannabis was being smuggled in 16 bags covered in coconut fibre bundles. The accused had loaded ganja in the truck in a forest area 20 km from Chintoor in Andhra Pradesh.

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The accused, Suryavanshi Santosh of Maharashtra, Mohammed Umar of Uttar Pradesh, Debrata Chakrabarti and Naratham Roy of Odisha, were arrested. A case would also be registered against the people who bought and sold the ganja, the SP said.

Since January 2025, the district police have seized about 6,688 kg of ganja worth Rs 33.44 crore in 84 cases. The PD Act has been invoked against three people involved in the ganja cases and they were sent to jail.

The SP said the properties of three persons caught in ganja cases have been confiscated, and the police were preparing a list to invoke the PD Act against some more persons. He appreciated CCS Inspector Ramakanth, SIs Praveen and Rama Rao, staff, and Chunchupalli SIs Ravikumar, Uma and staff for seizing the ganja.