250 kg of ganja packets bound for Sri Lanka seized in Thanjavur, 14 held

The ganja seized on Tuesday night is valued at Rs 1.25 crore, and with the vehicles used to smuggle which included a mini-lorry, two cars, and a scooter, the total value of seizure is Rs 2 crore
The police conducted an intense search in the lorry and found ganja packets weighing 250 kg inside the equipment being ferried | Express
The police conducted an intense search in the lorry and found ganja packets weighing 250 kg inside the equipment being ferried | Express

THANJAVUR: Ganja packets weighing 250 kg and bound for Sri Lanka were seized by a special team of police in Thanjavur on Tuesday night. A total of 14 persons were arrested in connection with the incident.

On the orders of DIG A Kayalvizhi, special teams were constituted to prevent smuggling and sales of ganja in the delta districts.

One such team, on Tuesday night, intercepted a mini lorry in Thanjavur and found equipment from a thermal power plant in Bihar being transported for repair.

On suspicion, the police conducted an intense search in the lorry and found ganja packets weighing 250 kg inside the equipment.

On interrogation, those in the mini lorry told the police that the ganja packets were being smuggled for onward despatch to Sri Lanka. Police sources further said the ganja packets used to be smuggled from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh into Tamil Nadu via Vellore and taken to places like Vedaranyam in Nagapattinam district and Jambuvanodai in Tiruvarur district for smuggling to Sri Lanka through boats.

It is further said the ganja bought at Rs 3,000 per kg at Visakhapatnam is being sold at a rate of Rs 20,000 per kg to intermediaries from Sri Lanka who, in turn, sell the same at Rs 50,000 per kg in retail. Hence the ganja seized on Tuesday night is valued at Rs 1.25 crore, and with the vehicles used to smuggle which included a mini-lorry, two cars, and a scooter, the total value of seizure is Rs 2 crore, sources added.

Based on investigations the police arrested 14 persons, including 11 from Tamil Nadu -- R SugaPerumal (42), Muthulingam (31), M Vellaiyan (29), M Sakthivel (38), J George Fernandes (27), Murugan (28), R Raja (43), S Veeraganesan (28), K Senthil (27), S Uma Maheswaran (51), and Raman (36), and three persons from Andhra: Pradesh K Srinivasalu (30), Govinda (27), and V Soya Nagarajan (31).

Meanwhile, A Kayalvizhi inspected the ganja seized by the special team. Thanjavur ASP V Jayachandran was present.

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