Two persons smuggling 60kg of marijuana to Maharashtra held in Hyderabad

The arrested persons are Valmik Rupa Mohite and B Devram Chavan, both from Maharashtra while Tirupati, the drug dealer from Araku in Andhra Pradesh, is absconding

Hyderabad: Two persons who allegedly were smuggling marijuana from Andhra Pradesh to Maharashtra via Hyderabad were caught by the Maheshwaram Special Operations Team (SOT) along with Ibrahimpatnam police, on Monday. About 60 kg of marijuana, a car and other material, altogether worth Rs 35 lakh, were seized.

The arrested persons are Valmik Rupa Mohite and B Devram Chavan, both from Maharashtra while Tirupati, the drug dealer from Araku in Andhra Pradesh, is absconding.

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According to the police, Rupa Mohite, who earlier was involved in transportation business, decided to start drug peddling after incurring loss. With the help of his relative Devram Chavan, Rupa Mohite procured marijuana at a lower rate in Tirupati and sold it to consumers in Maharashtra at a higher rate. To tramsport the acquired drugs, Rupa Mohite purchased a car and frequently smuggled marijuana between Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra via Hyderabad.

On August 26, the duo went to Visakhapatnam in the car and procured 60 kg of marijuana in Tirupati and affixed a fake vehicle registration number plate belonging to Andhra Pradesh while entering into AP.

“They proceeded from Pendurthy in Andhra Pradesh to Nashik in Maharashtra with marijuana stacked in 30 packets in the car. To avoid police checks, they chose a route through Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, Suryapet, Choutuppal, and Ibrahimpatnam,” said a senior police official.

Acting on a tip-off, the police teams intercepted their car at Raipole village in Ibrahimpatnam and seized the drug. Efforts are on to nab Tirupati.