Officials of the Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, Vijayawada, have seized about 405 kgs of ganja, worth about ₹81 lakh. They arrested six smugglers and seized a car and a mini truck from their possession, on Sunday.
On a tip-off, a team of Customs Department officials intercepted the vehicles at Prasadampadu on Vijayawada outskirts and seized the contraband found packed in gunny bags, said the officials in a release on Monday.
“The accused were transporting the contraband under the guise of onions. This was the second seizure of ganja in the last week in the State,” said an investigation officer adding that June 26 is the International Day Against Drug Abuse.
The accused were booked under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. They were produced in IV Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Vijayawada, which remanded them to judicial custody.
The Customs officials seized about 833 kgs of ganja, valued at about ₹1.66 crore in a week in the State, and arrested eight accused. Efforts are on to find out the origin and destination of the smuggling operation, the officials added.
