HYDERABAD: The sleuths of Special Operation Team (SOT) L B Nagar zone, in separate cases in the early hours of Saturday arrested six interstate ganja peddlers and seized 270 kilograms of ganja worth Rs 60 lakh.
The LB Nagar zone SOT team along with Abdullapurmet police busted an inter state ganja peddling racket with the arrest of four peddlers while they were transporting the contraband from Odisha to Rajasthan and seized 200 kilograms of ganja worth Rs 45 lakh from their possession.
Prime accuse Rakesh Chowhan (25), and Bajrang Singh (33) who procured 200 kg of ganja from AOB, in their Hyundai i20 car, concealed the same in the car I-20 car and were proceeding to Rajasthan, enrooted near ORR Abdullapurmet and seized the contraband, D S Chauhan, Rachakonda police commissioner said in a press meet.
The accused, Rakesh Chowhan and Samer Ram, were transporting Ganja from Odisha and selling the same in Rajasthan for Rs 20,000 per kilogram, Chauhan said.
Rakesh, a native of Nalgonda who is involved in the similar offence earlier, has arranged the procurement sources and Samer Ram to invest the money in illegal ganja business and persuaded other accused Pavan (and Bharat Singh, natives of Rajasthan for their support during transportation, Chauhan said.
Accordingly, the Rakesh and Samer went to AOB, in their Hyundai I20 car, purchased 200 kg ganja, concealed the same in the car and were proceeding to Rajasthan, enroute police apprehended them near ORR and seized the contraband from their possession.
To mislead the police the accused used different font size number plate and also changed their route and enrooted from Sileru, Chintur, Badrachalam, Khammam, via Suryapet, ORR, Medchal, Kamareddy, Adilabad, Nagpur, Bhopal, Kota, Ajmer of Rajasthan state. Apart from 200 kg ganja, police seized Rs 50,000 net cash, five mobile phones and a Hyundai i20 car used in smuggling the contraband.
In a separate arrest SOT LB Nagar zone along with Pochampally police apprehended arrested two interstate drug peddlers near Juluru crossroads, in Pochampally village and seized 70 kilograms of ganja and other property worth Rs 15 lakh.
Devraj Teju Pawar, Sachin Subhash Shinde, natives of Thane, Maharashtra who were involved in similar cases and arrested by Shamshabad SOT while smuggling 100 kg ganja in 2020.
Both the accused were addicted to ganja procured 70 kg ganja from Araku of Visakhapatnam requested the seller to arrange a vehicle to cross AP border till city outskirts, Chauhan said.
The duo were waiting for the vehicle when the police team arrested them All the six accused along with the seized property were booked under section 8 (c) read with 20 (b) (ii) (B) of NDPS Act and produced before the court.
