In the early hours of Monday, a team from the Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB), Pendurthi, arrested three persons from Odisha and seized 50 kg of dry ganja which they were allegedly trying to smuggle in a vehicle.
Based on a tip-off, the SEB team arrested the four persons during a vehicle check near Saripalli village on in the city outskirts. They were coming to the city from Koraput.
The arrested were identified as Nilamadhab Khemandu, Suresh Khara and Akshaya Khosla, all residents of Koraput, Odisha. Three more persons are yet to be arrested. While Sushant Kuldeep, also from Koraput, fled from the scene of offence, Subash, also a resident of Koraput, and Faisal Ansari, a resident of Mumbai, are yet to be arrested.
As per SEB officials, Subash is into cultivation of ganja in Koraput and Nilamadhab Khemandu, Suresh Khara, Akshaya Khosla and Sushant had purchased the contraband from him. They had purchased the ganja from Subash for ₹700 per kg and planned to sell it to Ansari for ₹7,500 per kg.
They planned to board the LTT Express from Visakhapatnam on Monday night with the ganja to reach Mumbai. They had also purchased train tickets. They confessed that earlier they had handed over 15 kg of ganja to Ansari.
