In a major catch, officials from Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) and Pendurthi police arrested four persons who allegedly smuggled 2,652 kg ganja from the Agency areas of Visakhapatnam district, here on Wednesday.
The consignment was reportedly bound for Uttar Pradesh. The contraband, worth around ₹50 lakh in the Agency, is expected to fetch around ₹3 crore in other States, according to police.
The accused were identified as Ramesh Chand, (31) Sunil Kumar (32) of Haryana, K. Kishore Kumar (26) and G. Gowri Sankar (22), both from Munchingput mandal, Visakhapatnam district. Three more persons — Ramesh of Odisha, Subash of Paderu mandal and Aliya Nabhi from Uttar Pradesh — are yet to be nabbed.
Giving details, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (SEB) V. Ajitha said that based on credible information, the SEB teams along with Pendurthi police conducted vehicle checking and intercepted a container lorry bearing Uttar Pradesh registration number near Pendurthi junction at around 5.30 p.m. on June 30 and arrested the four persons.
According to Ms Ajitha, based on a procurement order from the main accused Aliya Nabhi, the smugglers Ramesh Chand and Sunil Kumar had come to Visakhapatnam from Haryana on June 24 and had hired a container lorry from Srikakulam district. The duo had gone to Paderu, where they procured the ganja from two persons — Kishore and Gowri Shankar. The ADCP added that Ramesh and Subhash had helped the smugglers pack and load the ganja in the vehicle.
Upon checking the vehicle, the SEB and police teams found that the smugglers had stuffed the ganja in 520 ganja packets, each weighing around five kg, from the vehicle.
“In order to escape police checking, the smugglers prepared a fabricated cabin inside the vehicle. With the help of gas cutters, we had to cut open the box,” said ADCP Ms Ajitha. A case has been registered.
