3,000 kg ganja worth Rs 80 lakh seized in Andhra Pradesh

More than 3,000 kg ganja worth Rs 80 lakh were seized in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam district. One person, a truck driver, acting as a courier has been arrested while shifting the banned substance in a truck on Wednesday.

Chodawaram (Andhra Pradesh):Police seized more than 3,000 kg marijuana worth Rs 80 lakh at Chodwaram in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam district.

"The marijuana came from the agency area in Visakhapatnam district bordering Malkangiri and Khoraput," told Visakhapatnam Rural superintendent of police B. Krishna Rao said.

One person, a truck driver, acting as a courier has been arrested while shifting the banned substance in a truck on Wednesday.

"He is not the key person, only a driver acting as a courier. Another person was supposed to be at Tuni highway but he escaped as the courier got arrested," he said.

Aimed at hoodwinking the police, the courier was carrying husk to camouflage the ganja or marijuana.

Police arrested the courier under Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Following the key persons escape, the Indian Police Service Officer (IPS) said they are working towards establishing the front and back end of this illegal network to zero in on the persons involved in this illegal trade.

According to Rao, the entire agency area, mostly inhabited by tribals, has the habit of growing illegal marijuana.

There were many cases of ganja from these parts of AP being ferried all the way to Bengaluru. Eom/218 words

IANS