Tiruppur City Police on Thursday seized 340 kg ganja with an estimated value around ₹40 lakh that was allegedly smuggled from Andhra Pradesh in a car during a vehicle check near Anupparpalayam in the city.
According to the Anupparpalayam police, the driver of the sport utility vehicle (SUV) was caught when he attempted to flee from the spot.
The police found 155 bags of ganja, each weighing around 2.2 kg. inside the car. The total worth of the contraband was estimated to be around ₹40 lakh, according to the police. M. Palpandi (27), the driver from Theni district, was arrested following the seizure.
Commissioner of Police V. Vanitha inspected the seized ganja bags and the car. “This [seizure] was possible as we have intensified the vehicle checks in the morning hours,” she told mediapersons. The police also followed up on the seizure of ganja weighing 15 kg on November 29, she said. Investigations on the network of this seizure are under way, Ms. Vanitha said.
The driver was booked under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and was sent to be remanded in judicial custody on Thursday, the police said.
12 kg seized from train
In another incident, the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Salem division, on Thursday seized 12 kg of ganja and eight kg of banned tobacco products from a Kerala-bound train.
A team headed by sub-inspector R.Gokul Yadav conducted a crime prevention and detection drive on Dhanbad – Alappuzha Express between Tiruppur and Coimbatore stations on Thursday morning.
The team noticed an unmanned white colour bag underneath a seat of D1 coach. The personnel opened the bag and found 12kg of ganja.
The seized ganja, approximately valued around ₹ 1.20 lakh, was handed over to the inspector of RPF station, Coimbatore. It was later handed over to the Narcotics Intelligence Bureau CID, Coimbatore, for further legal action.
The team also found eight kg of banned tobacco products valued around ₹7,800 from D 4 coach of the same train.
The seized tobacco products were handed over to the Food Safety Department, Coimbatore, for further formalities.
