Around 300 kg. of dry ganja, valued at Rs.35 lakh, was seized and three accused were arrested by the Prohibition and Excise sleuths at Paderu in the district on Monday.
The three men were transporting the ganja from Maddigaruvu of G. Madugula via Paderu in a van when the vehicle was intercepted by the Excise police at Mettabangla village of Paderu mandal. The accused, M. Venkata Rao, M. Naidu of the city and M. Venkata Rao of Pedabayalu, were arrested while a fourth accused managed to escape. They procured the ganja from various parts of G. Madugula mandal to send it to Tamil Nadu. On a tip-off, Excise Inspector L. Upendra and his team conducted a raid and arrested the accused persons under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.