Police arrested six persons for allegedly smuggling ganja to neighbouring Tamil Nadu and seized the contraband worth ₹10 lakh from them on Monday.
Addressing the media here, Superintendent of Police said K. Thirumaleshwara Reddy said the racket was unearthed following a tip-off from their counterparts on the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border. Raids conducted in the district led to the seizure of the contraband weighing 50 kg being smuggled to Chennai in two cars by the accused near a hotel on the Kavali bypass road by a team led by Kavali Deputy Superintendent of Police M. Venkataramana under the supervision of Additional SP D. Himavathi.
A case was registered under Section 20 (b) II (C) read with 8 (C) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, NDPS Act by Kavali Rural police.
The main accused is one G. Anantha Sivaprasad (27), hailing from Kusarlapudi village, near Rolugunta in Anakapalli district and residing in Visakhapatnam. Investigations revealed that he was involved in ganja smuggling cases in the port city earlier also, the SP said. The other accused were identified as Kamireddy Srinu, 38, Veeravalli Raju, 47, Gorasi Raju, 19, Kakara Prem Kumar, 24, and Anga Rajesh, 24.
Stern action would be taken against those involved in cultivation, transportation and consuming the narcotic substance, the SP said, adding that the aim of the police was to make the district ‘ganja-free’.
A toll-free number 14500 has been introduced with an aim to educate the youth on the drug menace.
