The police seized 2,000 gelatin sticks, 300 metres of copper wire and 25 bags of ammonium nitrate from a van during vehicle checking in Rajampet town on Thursday.
However, the inmates of the vehicle produced documents and claimed that the explosives were being taken to Taduku near Puttur in Chittoor district for blasting operations as part of the highway expansion work, the police said.
The vehicle was intercepted while it was proceeding from Railway Kondapuram to Chittoor district. Police were contacting engineers concerned to check the veracity of the contractors’ claims.
Meanwhile, the police seized Rs. 20 lakh from a car in Rajampet, but returned the cash after a bank manager intervened and explained that the money was being taken by an account holder to make payment in a bank in Chittoor district, the police said.