: The sleuths of the Vigilance and Enforcement Department on Thursday foiled an alleged attempt by the members of an inter-State gang to smuggle rice meant for the Public Distribution System (PDS) to a neighbouring district.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of officials intercepted a lorry at Srinivasnagar and seized around 240 bags containing 120 quintals of PDS rice worth Rs. 36,000 from the vehicle. One of the key members of the gang, carrying the illegal consignment of rice in the vehicle, reportedly escaped from the spot. The officials have detained the driver of the lorry and seized the vehicle. Preliminary investigations revealed that the gang has been engaged in smuggling PDS rice from the district to the neighbouring districts for the last three years. The Vigilance sleuths launched a detailed probe into the allegations that the gang had earlier tried to illegally transport rice to some neighbouring countries through the Kakinada port.
Efforts are on to nab three members of the gang including its alleged kingpin – Nagaraju of Khammam and a father-son duo of a neighbouring State, according to Vigilance department sources.
