Hyderabad: Following repeated seizure of dry marijuana in the recent times, smugglers are now peddling hashish oil from Vizag as this is easier to go undetected and multiplies the high, excise officials said.
A drop of marijuana oil on a cigarette is enough to cause hours of narco-effects on those who take it, officials said, adding they have caught men smuggling the same in via honey bottles. Both looked similar.
“The marijuana or hashish oil is oil extracted from cannabis that has a higher concentration of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the major psychoactive substance than in the regular buds, making it more potent. Apart from being easy to conceal and smuggle, it is also easy to consume. It can be used with a portable vaporizer pen or an e-cigarette,” explained N. Anji Reddy, assistant excise superintendent of the Enforcement team.
He said that the Vizag Agency area, a 12-15 hour drive from the city, is the main source for supply of ganja and hashish oil to the region.
On December 29, 2020, sleuths of the special operations team of Malkajgiri zone, along with Saroornagar police, apprehended three drug peddlers, all students, and seized 1.5 liters of hashish oil from them. “The hashish oil is easy to transport. Police have been cracking down heavily on gangs transporting ganja from the Visakhapatnam agency area,” he said.
The oil was being sold at Rs 3,000 per 10 ml, which the trio procured from Araku. "They reached Hyderabad with the contraband and the police teams seized the contraband and arrested them,” said the Rachakonda police.
Being caught using or peddling the drugs can ruin one’s life. “One should know that possession, sale, transportation or consumption of narcotic drugs is an offence punishable under section 27 of NDPS Act. The punishment could be for a period of six months to one-year jail,” he said.
An official from the state excise department said marijuana cultivation is done by local tribes in the agency area and it does not have a kingpin as such. “This is a Naxal-dominated area and the Andhra Pradesh excise officials are attempting to destroy the crops. They use drones to access the crops and then strike.”
The data collected by the drone will help enforcement agencies to check/destroy the cultivation and also the smuggling of ganja in Vizag and Godavari districts,” said the official, adding that the police force in Hyderabad and other metro cities are breaking the tentacles of this racket by busting cases and seizing the contraband. Cops are also gathering information about the supply chain and the buyers.
