Telangana EAGLE Force busts international hydroponic ganja syndicate

Telangana’s EAGLE Force has busted an international hydroponic ganja trafficking syndicate, arresting 20 people and seizing 13 kg of drugs. Officials said the network operated across Bangkok and Indian cities, including Hyderabad, with around 200 persons suspected to be involved.

Hyderabad: In a major bust, the Telangana anti-narcotics agency, EAGLE Force, busted an international hydroponic cannabis smuggling racket allegedly operated by individuals linked to the underworld and arrested around 20 persons, including the masterminds and drug carriers.

Around 13 kg of high-quality hydroponic cannabis was seized in the operation carried out over a period of two months by around 50 officers of the EAGLE Force. Efforts are on to nab over 100 persons, including US nationals, who are allegedly associated with the syndicate.

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Sandeep Shandilya, Director, EAGLE Force, said that based on a tip-off from the Customs Department that an individual, Harshad Mansukh Bhai Prajapathi, a native of Gujarat, had managed to exit the RGIA, Shamshabad, undetected while carrying 12.739 kg of hydroponic cannabis, an operation was launched.

“A case was registered at the Cyberabad Narcotics Police Station and special teams caught Sandeep Jay Prakash Vaswani alias Rahul Jain and Harshad Mansukh Bhai Prajapathi at Ramachandrapuram bus stand with 12.739 kg of hydroponic ganja,” he said.

Investigations revealed that one Sudhanshu Pramod Keluskar, a native of Mumbai, was running the syndicate and was cultivating hydroponic ganja at four locations in Thailand in association with a local company there. The cannabis was smuggled into the country through different airports, including the RGIA, Shamshabad, in Hyderabad. So far, the syndicate had allegedly smuggled around 1,700 kg of hydroponic cannabis into the country.

“Persons facing financial difficulties were identified and lured into working as carriers to transport cannabis from Thailand to India. The prime suspects, Hemang Pramod Keluskar and Sudhanshu Pramod Keluskar, took the help of hawala operators to transfer funds to Thailand. They also owned a nightclub in Pattaya, Thailand. A few sharpshooters linked to two Mumbai underworld dons are actively involved in the cannabis smuggling,” the official said.