HYDERABAD: In the state’s largest ganja seizure this year, the Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE) seized 935 kg of ganja worth Rs 5 crore and arrested three persons in an inter-state operation.
The accused — Pawar Kumar Badu, Samadhan Kantilal Bhise and Vinayak Baba Saheb Pawar — had travelled from Maharashtra to Rajamahendravaram in a rented Toyota Innova on July 23. There, they met a supplier who loaded the ganja into a Tata Eicher truck. The Innova then escorted the truck to Maharashtra in a bid to evade checks.
Concealed in fruit trays
Acting on a tip-off, EAGLE teams from the Khammam Regional Narcotic Control Centre and Rachakonda Narcotic Police intercepted the convoy at Batasingaram Fruit Market Junction on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad National Highway. The vehicles were stopped at 3.05 pm after sustained surveillance on July 26.
A search of the truck revealed 35 HDPE bags hidden under empty plastic fruit trays. These contained 455 brown-taped packets of ganja.
Police said the smuggling ring was part of a well-organised syndicate operating between Odisha and Maharashtra via Andhra Pradesh. The gang used a credit-based model — financing local suppliers and buyers, maintaining records and ensuring consistent distribution.
With evidence linking the accused to financing, transporting and distributing narcotics, police have invoked Section 27A of the NDPS Act. Further investigation is underway.