The anti-drug drive by the Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) of the city police is yielding results in Visakhapatnam city.
The SEB conducted raids at three places and arrested eight persons including two women while they were allegedly found with 45 kg ganja and hash oil, at various parts in the city on Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference in the city on Thursday, Additional Commissioner of Police (SEB) V. Ajitha said that the SEB, along with City Task Force (CTF), raided a residence at Pendurthi. The teams found two women — P. Vasundhara (21) and K. Sireesha (21) — who procured the hash oil from Visakha Agency and were trying to sell it here. The seized hash oil is said to be worth around ₹1.5 lakh, she said. Police are yet to ascertain further details in the case.
In another case, the SEB team arrested four persons — J. Balaraju (25), J. Durga Prasad (30), V. Kesava Rao (25) and S. Manmadha Rao (28), while they were transporting 38 kg ganja in an auto-rickshaw near Duvvada. The ADCP said that in order to escape from the police, the smugglers fabricated a cabinet by cutting open the bottom of an LPG cylinder, wherein they stuffed the five ganja packets of about 10 kg. Another 28 kg of ganja was hidden inside the seat covers of the vehicle.
In the third case, the SEB teams arrested two youth identified as M.V. Sanju (26) and D. Sai Baba (26) of Hyderabad, while they were allegedly transporting 7 kg ganja in their bags to Hyderabad on a private bus. The SEB teams intercepted the bus near Rama Talkies and when checked thoroughly, seven kg ganja packets were found in four bags, she said.
In all three cases, the accused had procured the ganja from interior places of the Agency in Visakhapatnam district, she added.
“So far in this year, the SEB teams have seized 2,233.54 kg ganja from smugglers,” she said.
Ms. Ajitha also said that the police have been conducting such drives apart from conducting awareness campaigns on the harmful effects of drugs. She also urged parents to monitor the activities of their children.
Other cases
The ADCP said that the SEB teams also conducted raids at several places where they caught banned khaini and gutkha products and liquor bottles on Wednesday.
In one case, the SEB teams arested 32-year old A. Nageswara Rao while he was transporting banned khaini products worth ₹1.65 lakh in a private bus heading to Vijayawada. The accused confessed that he had procured the banned products from Berhampur in Odisha and was heading to Amalapuram in East Godavari district. The SEB teams seized 21,500 khaini sachets from him. In another case, two persons were arrested while they were transporting 138 liquor bottles, all of 180 ml quantity, in a vehicle near Gajuwaka.
