The Special Task Force (STF) team of Excise and Prohibition Department, Anakapalle arrested two persons and seized about 725 kg ganja being transported in a van, at Narsipatnam in Visakhapatnam district on Tuesday.
According to the officials, the ganja is suspected to have been procured at around ₹35 lakh, but its market value would be somewhere between ₹70 lakh and ₹1 crore in the northern States.
The accused have been identified as Balbir Singh and Aslam Ikram, both hailing from Uttar Pradesh.
Acting on a tip-off, the STF team led by Excise SI S.S. Chandramouli intercepted a van near the Government Degree College at Narsipatnam and recovered the contraband.
“In a bid to evade checking, the accused were transporting ganja concealed under a load of bananas. Ganja packed in 29 bags weighing 25 kg each were recovered from the vehicle. The smugglers allegedly procured the contraband from the interior parts of Visakhapatnam agency and transporting it to Uttar Pradesh,” an excise official said.
NDPS Act
The STF team has recovered about 1,429 kg ganja since Monday. Cases have been registered under various sections of the The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The excise officials have intensified checks on the smuggling in the district in the wake of the harvesting season of the contraband crop.
