Inter-State Smugglers Gang Busted, Two Held With Huge Haul of Marijuana

Visakhapatnam: An inter-state drug smuggling racket was busted by the Chintapalli Police in the Alluri Sitarama Raju district, on Tuesday, with the arrest of two smugglers and recovery of a huge cache of marijuana and electronic gadgets. SP Tuhin Sinha along with CI G. Ashok Kumar and SI J. Ramakrishna was successfully in busting the major drug smuggling activities.

The accused were caught transporting marijuana weighing 725.182 kg on a brown colour goods carrier bearing registration number MH16CA5551 and a Maruti Suzuki car with registration number MH25BA0725.

The contraband that was recovered from the smugglers valued at Rs. 1,300,000 (rupees thirteen lakh), besides, electronic gadgets like Vivo X60, Realme 9, and a sum of Rs 1300 in cash were also seized from them. The arrested smugglers were transporting the drugs from Maharashtra to Odisha. The accused were engaged in inter-state smuggling activities.

Notably, a third accomplice from Odisha managed to escape from the spot, prompting authorities to issue a lookout notice across both the states.

Briefing reporters, on Wednesday, ARS district SP, Tuhin Sinha, stated that the operation was carried out on Tuesday near the TRC Camp Village Junction under the Sileru police station limits, which resulted in arrest of two persons, identified as Sonal Kisan Kale and Sachin Laxman Kale, both residents of Maharashtra. The arrested were remanded to judicial custody and sent to Visakhapatnam Central Jail.

The SP also commended the role of the police team in busting the smuggling racket. The bank account of arrested persons was frozen by the police as part of the further investigation.