VISAKHAPATNAM: Hash oil (hashish oil) smuggling from Visakhapatnam Agency is going unchecked with Excise officials remaining clueless about it. The gangs have set up bases in interior areas of the Agency so that the police cannot reach them due to Maoist presence. As hash oil looks like cooking oil, officials are unable to crack the smuggling cases at check-posts. As much as 1 kg of hash oil is sold at `70,000 to `1 lakh. Excise officials say that the oil is being sold to gangs from Kerala, Delhi and Bangalore.
After a raid on hash oil preparation unit in the interior areas of Visakhapatnam Agency last year, the other gangs preparing the drug were on the alert and moved deeper into the areas, which are Maoist hubs. Sources in the Excise department said that the gangs are shifting to Maoist-infested areas, making it tough for them to raid. Since the shifting, there was no hash oil catches by the officials. Officials of the department said that with hash oil being similar to other oils, they are unable to identify them with naked eyes.
For the preparation of hash oil, there is a need for a huge amount of ganja.