Ganja-smuggling Gang Busted, Two Tonne Seized From Five Arrested

Hyderabad: The TS Anti-Narcotics Bureau (TNAB) in a joint operation with Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) caught a five-member Maharashtra-based gang and seized two tonnes of ganja, a lorry and a car used for the transportation from them at Jadcherla in Mahabubnagar district. They were transporting ganja from Vizianagaram district in Andhra Pradesh to Pune in Maharashtra. The ganja was concealed in a custom-made compartment in the lorry to avoid police checks.

The arrested were identified as Raju Ambadas Shinde, Balaji Arjun Kale, Nikhil Nandakumar Ghawali, Madhukar Arjun Kale and Sanjay Ravindra Chowhan, all hailing from Osmanabad district, Maharashtra, while the main accused Hasan is absconding, said SP TNAB D. Sunitha Reddy.

She said Hasan offered a deal to the arrested to transport ganja and agreed to pay Rs 2 lakh for it. Accordingly, they procured a lorry, fabricated it with a secret compartment on the top of the engine for concealing ganja to hold up to 250 KGs of the contraband. They also procured a car for piloting the lorry.

As per the instructions from Hasan, the arrested went to the agency area near Parvathipuram of Vizianagaram, collected 104 packets of ganja, weighing 2 kgs each, concealed them in the secret compartment of the lorry and started off to Pune via Hyderabad. The car was piloting the lorry around 20 kms ahead to alert them of police checks.

Acting on a tip off, TNAB team, led by Sunitha Reddy, DSP K. Narsing Rao, inspectors P. Rajesh, G.S. Daniel, B. Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy and NCB officials intercepted them at Jadcherla and seized the ganja.