VIJAYAWADA: Around 1,334 kg of ganja worth `1.34 crore was seized and one person arrested by officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) near Benz Circle in Vijayawada on Saturday night. The DRI officials intercepted the mini van carrying the recreational drug, in a secret operation without even informing the local police, to ensure that the smugglers weren’t tipped off.
According to DRI officials, a mini van was coming was heading towards Hyderabad via Vijayawada from Vizag. Acting on a tip off, a team of DRI officers from Hyderabad and Vijayawada’s regional unit intercepted the vehicle near Benz Circle and found ganja packets which were hidden beneath huge loads of cabbage.
DRI sources said the ganja was packed in 3 kg packs and small packets of around 20 were further packed into another big pack. Around 440 such big packets were found and seized along with van. The driver, T Srinivas Rao, a native of Serigalapalli near Palakole, was arrested along with ganja. A case was registered under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances(NDPS) Act. The stock was placed in a warehouse in Vijayawada and with the permission of the court, officials destroyed it on Sunday.