VIJAYAWADA: The Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) has registered a whopping 1,05,689 cases pertaining to smuggling of liquor, ganja and sand and other illegal activities from January 1 to December 28.
In addition, the SEB sleuths launched Operation Parivartana with an aim to curb the supply side of the ganja menace. This resulted in the agency destroying cannabis worth Rs 9,034 crore (the market value of per kilo of dried ganja is Rs 10,000).
During the month-long operation, the SEB, along with the local police, destroyed ganja plantations in 7,375 acres in 299 villages under 11 mandals of Visakhapatnam and East Godavari.
The SEB, an autonomous body headed by an Inspector General of Police (IGP)-rank officer, was formed in May 2020 to curb the illegal transportation of liquor, sand and ganja in Andhra Pradesh.
According to the statistics obtained from the agency, a total of 1,46,217 persons were arrested in all of the 1,05,689 cases.
The data further revealed that the SEB seized 6,84,684 litres of illicitly distilled liquor, destroyed 2,39,45,498 litres of fermented jaggery and 1,83,896 kilograms of black jaggery, which is used in the preparation of ID liquor, during enforcement drives and other surprise checks.
Also, the sleuths seized 6,49,635 litres of non-duty paid liquor (NDPL), which was being smuggled to AP from the neighbouring States, and another 2,29,449 litres from the people indulging in its unauthorised sale. With more focus on the activities in rural areas, the SEB officials carried out several enforcement drives and destroyed over 2,000 litres of toddy.
Speaking to TNIE, SEB commissioner Vineet Brijlal said the bureau’s primary focus is on curbing the ganja trade by destroying the plantation and conducting coordinated operations with police departments of other states to neutralise the organised networks.
“Like never before, we launched an operation, Parivartana, to make sure that no ganja crop is left in the agency areas. We are expecting that incidents of ganja smuggling will reduce next year as most of the ganja plantations in the agency areas have been destroyed or burnt.We have destroyed 3,70,20,499 ganja plants,” Vineet told TNIE.
Also, the SEB officials seized 2,31,174 kgs of dry ganja and 21,499 vehicles, which were used in criminal acts.
