Published Sep 12, 2022 | 5:46 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 12, 2022 | 5:47 PM
The arrested were transporting the marijuana consignment to Maharashtra via Hyderabad from the Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh. In picture is the seized contraband. (Supplied)
The Rachakonda Police on Monday, 12 September, said six people were arrested with 360 kg of marijuana, supposed to be worth ₹1.2 crore.
The men were arrested near the Choutuppal Toll Plaza in the Yadadri Bhuvangiri district, based on a tip-off on Sunday, 11 September night, the police said, adding that a search was underway for three other members of the gang.
The police also seized three cars, eight mobile phones, and ₹10,000 in cash from the accused.
Investigators identified the arrested men as Kanumareddy Pavan Kumar (31), Manda Sudheer Babu (27), Kotipalli Lova (28), and Milkula Teja (18) — all from Andhra Pradesh, and Pawan Manohar Tambole (26) of Karnataka and Santosh Ghante (31) from Maharashtra.
The police charged them under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act of 1985.
Raids are being conducted in different locations to arrest three alleged peddlers, identified as Jithu from Odisha, Baba from Karnataka, and Mangesh from Maharashtra.
The arrest and seizure came almost three weeks after the Rachakonda Police seized 590 kg of marijuana, supposed to be worth ₹1.3 crore.
The seized marijuana. (Supplied)
A joint operation was carried out by the Choutuppal police and the Special Operations Team (SOT) from the Malkajgiri zone, based on inputs on drug dealings.
“The suspects were carrying the marijuana in two cars. The vehicles were intercepted near the Choutuppal toll plaza under the Choutuppal police jurisdiction,” a police officer from the Choutuppal Police Station told South First.
The cops added that the suspects were smuggling marijuana from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh to Maharashtra via Hyderabad.
The police said Kanumareddy had been arrested last year for a similar offence.
“He got in touch with Jithu (the main supplier, who is at large), who promised him ₹2 lakh if he delivered the consignment to the middlemen Baba Baba (also on the run) on the outskirts of Hyderabad,” the cops said.
The police added that Kanumareddy roped in Babu, Lova, and Teja for the job, and promised them ₹25,000 each, besides transportation charges.
“Baba contacted Tambole, who in turn assigned Ghante and Mangesh to receive the contraband at the Choutuppal toll plaza, where we arrested the six of them,” a senior officer said.
He added that the gang procured 360 kg of marijuana for ₹3.5 lakh — at a rate of ₹972 per kg — from the supplier to sell it to middlemen for ₹25,000 per kg, bagging a profit of more than ₹24,000 per kg.
“The middleman (Mangesh) would further increase the profit margin and sell it to end-users for around ₹30,000-40,000 per kg,” the police said.
