Cultivation of ganja and its smuggling from the Agency area have become a source of worry both for the police and the Prohibition and Excise Department.
In February, the Visakhapatnam police recovered about 2 tonnes of dry ganja from a fabricated oil tanker near Chintalaveedhi in Paderu in the Visakhapatnam Agency and arrested three smugglers.
The ganja was neatly packed and stuffed in the chamber and it was detected by the police based on a tip off.
The smugglers are finding new means to smuggle the stuff to reach the big markets in cities such as Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai. And the easiest way to smuggle the hemp is through specially fabricated chambers in vehicles, which included even autorickshaws.
As it is very difficult to detect the contraband hidden in chambers, the district police are mulling deploying trained sniffer dogs.
It is learnt that a proposal for at least two sniffer dogs has been sent to the Home Department and approval is awaited.
German Shepherd,
the favourite
Sources said, that the dogs, if required, will be imported, and will be trained to sniff out ganja even if it is kept in concealed chambers. It is also learnt that in the choice of dogs, German Shepherds head the list.
Superintendent of Police (Visakha rural) Rahul Dev Sharma says the dog squad will strengthen the hands of the enforcement officials. The canines will be pressed into action between the gateway points from the Agency areas to East Godavari and Visakhapatnam district.
Sources in police said it was DGP N. Sambasiva Rao, who expressed surprise over the magnitude of ganja cultivation and its smuggling during his visit to the Vizag Agency and the Andhra-Odisha Border, floated the idea of the sniffer dog squad.
Industry
The fabrication of vehicles is an industry by itself in East Godavari. Vehicles ranging from auto-rickshaws to mini vans and from oil tankers to cars and SUVs get fabricated chambers done, said Assistant Commissioner of Excise SVVN Babji Rao.
In the last two years, the police and the Excise Department have seized about 410 vehicles of different sizes and make.