HYDERABAD: The sleuths of Telangana Prohibition and Excise department, which has been cracking down on peddling of LSD, MDMA, Cocaine, are now focusing on what is called ‘the gateway drug’: Ganja. Sources in the department said that the crackdown on Ganja will be similar to what they did with Gudumba or Illegally Distilled (ID) liquor. It may be noted that many districts in the state have now been declared ID Liquor free.
Though consignments of Ganja are regularly seized by the State Excise department, Hyderabad and Cyberabad police, the crackdown will now be systematic and continuous, sources said. The officials have been receiving tip-offs about ganja sale-points through people who dial the department’s toll free number. Sleuths of the department always had an idea about the routes and places (Odisha state and Agency areas in Andhra Pradesh) from where Ganja is procured and patches of land in Telangana where it is cultivated. The map and details are ready.
“Ganja has become a bigger menace. Our crackdown on it will be a total washout,” sources said, adding that consignment of the drug is transported from Odisha to Andhra and from there to Telangana or from Andhra to Telangana. The sleuths will clamp down the routes which are usually used to bring in the consignments.
After the department launched a toll-free number for people to pass any information related to narcotics and drugs, the number did not stop ringing for a few days as people passed information about ganja sale points and about people whom they suspected to be smoking weed. Apart from the State Excise department and Telangana police, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence officials have also launched raids.
If need be, security to Sabharwal will be beefed up: Padma Rao
Hyderabad: In the wake of reports of threatening call to Telangana Excise departments Enforcement wing director Akun Sabharwal, state Excise minister T Padma Rao said that if need be, security cover to the officer would be increased.
The IPS officer reportedly received threatening calls over Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP). Speaking to a media channel on Saturday, the minister said that if they get to know the identity of the person who made the calls, they will ensure that cases are registered against the caller. Meanwhile, in a protest against alleged use of drugs and narcotic substances in pubs and bars, Congress party’s Youth wing staged protests at entrances of pubs in Jubilee Hills and Banjara Hills.