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Vizag Central Jail packed with ganja smugglers
The ganja smugglers, hailing from different parts of the country, have packed the Central Jail outnumbering the regular criminals and those under trial. The smugglers include over 35 women and a few of them are said to be film stars and models who posing as tourists came to the Agency area in high end cars to take weed back home for some good money.
Visakhapatnam: The ganja smugglers, hailing from different parts of the country, have packed the Central Jail outnumbering the regular criminals and those under trial. The smugglers include over 35 women and a few of them are said to be film stars and models who posing as tourists came to the Agency area in high end cars to take weed back home for some good money.
During the last one year, the police and prohibition and excise officials have intensified checking and raids on hideouts resulting in increase in the number of arrests. Most of them are carriers and so far none of the kingpins were arrested by the police or excise personnel.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Out of total 1,100 inmates, there are 750 ganja smugglers
- Ganja is reportedly grown in 10,000 acres in Vizag Agency
- The smuggling of ganja has been on the rise in the Agency
- Vizag Agency grows the best ganja in the country
They come from Maharashtra, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Telangana. “The total number of inmates is around 1100 and of them 750 are ganja smugglers who include women,’’ said superintendent of the jail Dr V Srinivasa Rao.
Explaining the reason for their extended stay, Dr Rao said though the government provides them with legal aid, the accused persons are not in a position to get cash surety which the courts have been insisting on.
The poor carriers are cut off from their families and friends and are not in a position to find some Samaritan who would provide them cash surety. The kingpins or handlers wash off their hands once these carriers are caught, the superintendent said.
The weed is grown in 10,000 acres in Vizag Agency but it is harvested more in Odisha bordering Andhra Pradesh. Since it is difficult to transport through Odisha due to heavy presence of paramilitary forces, smugglers mostly choose routes leading to Narsipatnam and from there to Visakhapatnam city where most of them get arrested mid-way.
“More and more people will get arrested in the future. The arrests are not deterring the people from indulging in smuggling. A student gets paid Rs 5,000 for piloting a vehicle from Agency to the point of delivery.
Smarter among them also get motorcycles and mobile phones from the smugglers,’’ said a retired police officer who worked in the anti-Maoists operations a few years ago. Agency sources, explaining the reasons for increase in the smuggling, said Vizag Agency grows best ganja in the country and said to be better than the weed grown in Idukki Valley (Kerala) and Kulu Manali (Uttarakhand).
Recently, the police raided a house where Hash oil was being prepared from ganja plants. Hash, also known as charas, is normally made in Kulu and Manali and sometimes imported from Afghanistan and Pakistan.
