Teacher, tutor among inter-state smuggling trio; Suryapet police seize 120 kg ganja

Suryapet police arrested three members of an inter-state gang smuggling ganja from Andhra Pradesh to Hyderabad. The operation led to the seizure of 120 kg of ganja, a car, and mobile phones. The accused include a school teacher and his wife, who allegedly sourced the contraband from Odisha.

Suryapet: The district police on Wednesday arrested three members of an inter-state gang involved in smuggling ganja from Andhra Pradesh to Hyderabad, according to the Superintendent of Police Narasimha Rao. He told media persons that the operation led to the seizure of 120 kg of ganja valued at Rs 60 lakh, along with one car and eight mobile phones.

Detailing the identities and modus operandi of the accused, he said the accused were identified as Kanam Ramesh, who hails from ECIL in Hyderabad, Chapala Ashok, a school teacher from Sitarampuram village in Vizianagaram district and his wife Chapala Erukamma alias Rohini, a former private tutor, now running a loss-making rice trading business in Vijayawada.

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On September 22, Ashok procured 110 kg of ganja from Odisha and transported it to the rented house of Ramesh in Vijayawada. Ramesh loaded the contraband into his car and left for Hyderabad the next day. En route, he stashed the ganja in a shed near a petrol bunk on the outskirts of Kodada. Kodada police, acting on a tip-off, recovered the stash and launched an investigation.

The arrest occurred at Kattakommugudem crossroad in Kodada outskirts. Based on Ramesh’s confession, police conducted raids in Vijayawada and arrested Ashok and Erukamma, seizing two mobile phones from their possession. All three accused have been remanded to judicial custody, SP Narasimha confirmed.