The special operation team of Shamshabad along with Miyapur police on Friday intercepting a Nashik-bound vehicle, arrested six inter-State smugglers, and seized a total of about 800 kilograms of ganja.
The dry ganja packed in brown tapes and concealed under bags of ginger in a DCM truck was being piloted by another car. The contraband originated in the Agency area of Koraput district of Odisha, was being taken to Nashik, Maharashtra, via Hyderabad, when the police obstructed the vehicle at Miyapur X road toll gate.
Cyberabad police commissioner Stephen Raveendra explaining the seizure to media persons on Friday, said the material had a street value of Rs. 1.60 crore, as against its procured rate at Rs. 3000 per kilogram. Except the main supplier Subhash Kumar of Odisha and Vikas Jadhav of Nashik, the main receiver, the remaining six smugglers were arrested.
Police said it was found that the order was made last week and the vehicle was loaded with 156 five-kilogram packets inside a forest in Koraput. Four persons guarded ganja in the DCM, and care was taken not to enter the city limits to avoid police surveillance.
The arrested include Ashok Khule, Amol Athawale, Vilash Jagannath Phachore, Firoz Momin and Sudam Ghotekar of Nashik and Ahmednagar districts. One Rahul Kumar, a driver, hailed from Mirzapur of Uttar Pradesh.
