Palamaner sub-division police conducted a fortnight-long special drive against ganja peddling and arrested 35 accused of contraband smuggling. They also seized 50 kg of ganja and ganja plants weighing 50 kg from the possession of the smugglers.
The police also booked 12 cases against four peddlar gangs.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (Palamaner) N. Sudhakar Reddy on Wednesday said that following an increase in the movement of ganja peddlers in the Chittoor district, Superintendent of Police Y. Rishant Reddy formed special parties in Palamaner sub-division to nab the accused.
In the last ten days, special raids were conducted in Palamaner, Kuppam, V. Kota, and Punganur circles, the Deputy SP said.
The police seized ganja plants weighing 50 kg and nabbed a 12-member gang on the outskirts of Palamaner. The gang also included two minors and a woman.
In Kuppam, the police caught four locals, all aged above 65 years, possessing ganja plants.
12 were held in V. Kota mandal, and five were arrested in Punganur for possessing ganja. In Peddapanjani mandal, three accused were arrested along with the contraband.
Two from Vizag held
The Deputy SP said that a couple of people based in Vizag, accused of ganja smuggling, were also taken into custody.
The modus operandi of the smuggling racket was to procure the ganja packets from the North Andhra districts. A couple of bikes were also seized from the accused during the raids.
‘Youth involved’
Mr. Sudhakar Reddy expressed serious concern over the involvement of youth in the age group of 19-27 years, besides some minors and women, in the peddling operations.
He said that the ganja peddlers used women and minors to evade detection during inspections and raids. “We have intensified surveillance along the routes vulnerable to the smuggling,” he said.
Meanwhile, the police observed that in north Andhra, the smuggler gangs would procure one kg of ganja at ₹2,000, which in turn would be sold at ₹500 per packet of 50 grams in the Chittoor district, and the price would further increase, the farther it reaches to the southern States.
