Telangana: Ganja smuggling goes up in Adilabad in 2024

As many as 75 cases were booked under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 in this year as against 29 cases reported in 2023, indicating a growth by 159 percent

Adilabad: In an alarming trend, smuggling of ganja is on the rise in the district even as police take a slew of measures to eradicate the menace this year.

As many as 75 cases were booked under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 in this year as against 29 cases reported in 2023, indicating a growth by 159 percent. A whopping 9.87 quintals of ganja were seized in the district in 2024. The value of the substance was assessed to be Rs 2.31 crore.

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Offenders are using innovative ways to smuggle the contraband substance. They are transporting containers, cars and two-wheelers to hoodwink the police at check-posts using escorts.

They are indulging in the offence at night. They are committing the crime to make a fast buck. They are targeting youngsters in rural parts of the district and Hyderabad, Karimnagar and Nizamabad.

Two persons from Uttar Pradesh and four persons of Maharashtra, all belonging to an inter-state gang were arrested, while two more were absconding for allegedly smuggling at an inter-state check post at Laxmipur village in Thalamadugu mandal, located on borders of Telangana and Maharashtra on September 25. A container, 900 kilograms of ganja worth Rs 2.25 crore was seized from them, startling police officials.

Investigations revealed that the accused persons were escorting the container which was transporting contraband substance from Raipur, Sukma and Jagdalpur districts of Chhattisgarh to Malkangiri district of Odisha to Buldhana and Dhule districts of Maharashtra as per instructions of Ashish and Pandith Ji, kingpin of the gang. Ashish and Pandith Ji were still at large.

Superintendent of Police Gaush Alam said that a special focus was laid on curbing the menace of smuggling ganja in the district. He stated that patrolling was intensified, while cases were booked against peddlers. A watch was kept on habitual offenders in the district and neighbouring Maharashtra.