Hyderabad: The excise officials seized 30 kg raw ganja and took nine inter-state drug peddlers into custody at Abdullapurmet on Vijayawada national highway in the early hours of Thursday.
During their surprise route checks, the excise officials intercepted over 12 buses and 15 trucks heading from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh into the city limits.
Based on a tip off, the officials checked buses and have taken 10 peddlers into custody. Around 30 kg ganja was seized from peddlers separately travelling in six buses, Ravinder Rao, Excise SP of Saroornagar zone, said.
The SP said that two drug peddlers each belong to Odisha, Maharashtra and Delhi. They were planning to transport the contraband to their respective states. “Those detained are being interrogated and action will be taken basing on their information,” he said.
Reliable sources in excise disclosed that the nine peddlers were acting as delivery boys charging Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000 for a trip to deliver the contraband to main suppliers in Maharashtra, Telangana, Delhi and other states. Excise officials have seized their mobile phones and are seeking local police assistance in identifying those in anonymity, sources disclosed.
The peddlers had procured ganja from various suppliers in Palasa, Rajahmundry, Visakhapatnam, Narsipatnam and Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) agency areas, excise officials said.
Excise Assistant SP Hanmanth Rao said that the routine checks will be conducted on a daily basis as there are instructions to eradicate drug menace from Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.
