Hyderabad, Nov 16 (IANS): The Special Operations Team (SOT) of Rachakonda police on Monday seized 1,240 kg ganja (marijuana) at Boduppal on the outskirts of Hyderabad.
The banned substance was being transported from Sileru in Andhra Pradesh to Mumbai via Hyderabad.
Acting on a specific input, the SOT in a joint operation with Medipally police seized the ganja and arrested three peddlers.
Rachakonda police commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat said the police seized 1,240 kg ganja, one Innova car, one Tata Ace closed vehicle, one Tata Indica car, two mobile phones, and Rs 5,000 cash.
The commissioner said that this is the largest quantity of ganja seized by the Rachakonda police this year.
The arrested persons have been identified as T. Santhosh (29), S. Vasudeva Reddy (25) and Ponnam Rajeshwar (24), all residents of Hyderabad.
The main accused -- Shaik Yaseen -- and two others, Chunchu Ravinder and Manda Madhu, are absconding.
Yaseen earlier had a travel business and used to operate four-wheelers on various routes. After suffering losses in the business during the Covid-19 lockdown, he started the illegal business and came in contact with ganja peddlers from Sileru agency areas of Visakhapatnam district.
The commissioner said that Yaseen had been running the illegal business for the past one year along with the other accused, using the auto garage of Vasudeva Reddy at Boduppal for dumping and dispatching the contraband.
The main accused was personally monitoring the illegal work by keeping in touch with the suppliers and receivers. He used to go to Sileru with the accused and transport the contraband. He was paying Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 each to the remaining accused for each trip.
The police also learnt that the main accused used to purchase ganja from suppliers at Rs 8,000 per kg and sell the same to the customers for Rs 15,000 per kg.
The latest recovery came four days after the Prohibition and Excise Department seized 462 kg ganja estimated to be worth Rs 1 crore in Medchal district near Hyderabad.
The ganja seized from two cars was being transported from the Andhra-Odisha border area to Maharashtra.
Four accused were arrested in connection with the case.