Hyderabad: Sleuths of the City Task Force, Southeast Zone team, along with Kanchanbagh police arrested four ganja peddlers including a woman catering event organiser and seized 31.34 kg ganja worth Rs 3.10 lakh from their possession.
Police teams on Monday intercepted a vehicle on Phisalbanda crossroads and arrested four persons who were transporting the contraband.
The accused Shaik Abdul Faisal, 36, Mohammed Samiuddin alas Addu, 32, Mohd Amer, 32, and Husna Fatima alias Sajeeda Tabassum, 28, all from the city were planning to sell the contraband for the New Year parties.
During interrogation prime accused Faisal and Amer, both residents of Mailardevpally and childhood friends, came in contact with supplier Rithesh (absconding) of Odisha and hatched a plan to smuggle large quantities of ganja from Araku to the city and sell them at a higher price for the New Year, additional commissioner of police K.G. Manohar said in a press meet on Tuesday.
On December 25, Sami contacted Rithesh through phone calls and booked an order. Later Faisal and Sami contacted Husna and Amer who assured, apart from profits, they would pay then an extra Rs 10,000 each for helping them smuggle the contraband from Araku, Manohar said.
Faisal borrowed a vehicle from his friend on December 29, and headed towards Odisha where Faisal and Husna purchased 15 packets of ganja, each packet weighing about 2 kg, for Rs 56,000 from Ritesh and concealed it in the four-wheeler, he said.
The main supplier, Rithesh of Koraput district, Odisha, is yet to be apprehended. The seized contraband, the vehicle and four mobile phones were produced before the court and later they were remanded in judicial custody.
