VISAKHAPATNAM: ASR district police seized 800 kilograms of ganja worth ₹40 lakh in two separate raids on Wednesday.
Acting on a tip-off, the district’s Mothugudem police under Chinturu subdivision apprehended three individuals—Amit Giri, Shivdayal Dhore and Alok Gotam—all residents of Madhya Pradesh, while checking a truck near the Mothugudem police station. Police found the trio in possession of 550 kilograms of ganja. They had procured the contraband from Sanjeev alias Gennu of Alluri Kota village in Odisha and were transporting it to Madhya Pradesh.
Efforts are underway to arrest Sanjeev and two other accomplices, Ranjeeth Mavai and Durgesh Goswami, who also are from Madhya Pradesh.
In a separate incident, the Mothugudem police intercepted a car carrying 250 kilograms of ganja. They took the car driver Majji Venkat Sumanth, a resident of Konta in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, into custody.
Two other suspects—Guntaka Satheesh Reddy from Khammam and Yarava Vivek from Jangaon, Warangal, who escorted the car, managed to escape on their motorcycle. The car, which had been rented, had been heading to Hyderabad with the contraband. Total market value of the seized ganja is estimated at approximately ₹40,00,000.
Police have advised rental agencies and car owners to verify the antecedents of persons to whom they are renting the car. Otherwise, criminals can use rented vehicles for illegal activities such as ganja / drug trafficking.
