HYDERABAD: The South East Zone Task Force, along with Bandlaguda police, arrested three men for allegedly transporting 908 kg of ganja worth Rs 2.7 crore. The contraband, sourced from Malkangiri in Odisha, was being taken to Maharashtra when police intercepted the vehicle in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
The accused were identified as ganja transporter Mohammed Kaleem Uddin alias Mohammed, and AC technicians Shaik Sohail alias Sohail and Mohammed Afzal alias Abbu — all childhood friends from Amberpet.
South East Zone DCP S Chaitanya Kumar said the trio worked for Rahman, who, along with suppliers Jithu from Odisha and Suresh from Srikakulam, offered them Rs 3 lakh–Rs 5 lakh per trip to move ganja from Odisha to Maharashtra via Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. Rahman promised Rs 50,000 per trip to each of his associates.
Meanwhile, Rahman, Jithu, Suresh and Mahesh, the Maharashtra receiver, are absconding. The seized ganja, sourced from forest areas of Kalimela and Malkangiri, was meant for distribution across Maharashtra. Police said the accused are in custody and probe is on to trace other suspects.
