Renewed attempts by the law enforcement agencies to curb smuggling of ganja in areas along the Telangana - Andhra Pradesh border has prompted the inter-State ganja smuggling gangs to adopt new tactics to evade detection of the contraband.
The inter-State ganja smugglers made an abortive attempt to smuggle a huge haul of ganja weighing more than 380 kg from Chhattisgarh to Mahabubabad in the State through Chintur in Andhra Pradesh. They had concealing the contraband beneath a load of gunny bags containing rice husk in a transport vehicle.
However, an alert team of the Forest Department foiled their bid by seizing the vehicle at the check-post near Palvancha town on Thursday. A similar attempt to smuggle the narcotic substance by the smugglers who concealed the contraband in the chassis of a TSRTC bus was thwarted by the Chintur police in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh in June this year, sources said.
Ganja weighing 382 kg wrapped in about 192 packages was found hidden underneath a huge load of bags filled with rice husk in the vehicle during a vehicle-checking drive near Palvancha on Thursday morning, said Anantharam Reddy, Forest Range Officer, Palvancha. Two persons carrying the ganja in the vehicle were detained and handed over to the Prohibition and Excise Department personnel for further investigation, he told The Hindu .
