VIJAYAWADA: Bapatla police arrested a lorry driver and cleaner on Friday night and seized from their vehicle 180 kg of ganja valued at around ₹8 lakhs.
Bapatla district superintendent of police Vakul Jindal said the arrested are driver Kakati Lova Raju of Paripaka in Rauthapudi mandal of East Godavari district and cleaner Peethani Naga Apparao of Pithavanipalem village in Peddagantyada mandal of Visakhapatnam district.
The SP explained that Lova Raju has been the driver of lorry AP 16 TY 5976 owned by Syed Razak of Chagallu area in East Godavari district for past two months. Razak instructed Raju to load gypsum from Coromandal Industries in Visakhapatnam and deliver it to Ultratech Limited at Gulbarga in Karnataka.
Accordingly, the lorry driver and cleaner Apparao loaded gypsum in the lorry and left Vizag on March 20 night. On March 21, they reached Anakapalli and parked the lorry at a petrol bunk. Lova Raju then went to his house. On March 22 night, lorry owner Razak took the vehicle elsewhere and concealed six bags of ganja in the middle of the gypsum load. The lorry owner then handed over the vehicle to Lova Raju near Erravaram toll gate in Jaggampet area.
Razak informed both the driver and cleaner about the ganja consignment. He gave them a number, instructing them to hand over the ganja bags to a person in Karnataka. The lorry owner asked Lova Raju and Apparao to collect ₹20,000 from the person who will collect the ganja consignment.
Bapatla DSP A. Srinivasa Rao, Martur inspector Shaik T. Firoz, Martur sub-inspector K. Kamalakar and other staff had been conducting vehicle checks at Bollapalli toll plaza late on Friday night when the lorry reached there. Realising that their vehicle will be checked, Lova Raju and Apparao tried to run away but were caught. The two have been arrested. The ganja packed in six plastic containers as well as the lorry have been seized.
Police have registered a case and are looking out for the lorry owner and others involved in the smuggling.
