Bhadrachalam: Police crackdown on ganja hits peddlers hard

Bhadrachalam: Taking the advantage of present Covid-19 pandemic situation, several youths of various States started ganja smuggling from Odisha.

Bhadrachalam police have busted ganja smuggling on the borders and seized 5,765 kg ganja worth nearly Rs 8 crore and arrested 98 persons till date.

The heart of agency area, Bhadrachalam town is very close to the borders of Chhattisgarh and Odisha States. Smugglers, who come from Odisha via Nellipaka village of East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh, has to enter Bhadrachalam and from there they can go to different States to sell ganja. It is the only way to go to any State.

Bhadrchalam police have busted many smuggling cases in the last 75 days. In June, July and August months, ganja worth about Rs 8 crore was seized in separate incidents. Cops said that smugglers in the age group of 30 to 40 years are resorting to ganja smuggling. As police increased checking, the smugglers adopted new methods like smuggling ganja in expensive cars, vehicles with fake government stickers, hiding ganja packets under vegetables, fruits. They even smuggling ganja in containers and buses.

Speaking with The Hans India over ganja smuggling, Bhadrachalam Assistant Superintendent of Police M Rajesh Chandra informed that this year they have seized nearly 5,765 kg ganja till date, which is worth more than Rs 8 crore. Police are conducting round-the-clock checking on the borders of Bharachalam and set up special teams, he said.

The Assistant SP said people, mainly youth, from Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Haryana, are actively doing ganja smuggling. So far, police arrested 980 smugglers and seized 38 vehicles.

This is a good record for the police, when compared to previous years where 3,100 kg ganja was seized in 2019 and 900 kg seized in 2018, he informed.