Ganja stocking point raided in heart of Visakhapatnam

Two juveniles who were part of the racket taken into custody

November 03, 2019 01:20 am | Updated 09:24 am IST - VISAKHAPATNAM

Police Commissioner R.K Meena along with DCP (Zone I) S. Ranga Reddy inspecting the ganja storage point which was busted in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.

Police Commissioner R.K Meena along with DCP (Zone I) S. Ranga Reddy inspecting the ganja storage point which was busted in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.

Police arrested three persons including two women and took two juveniles (one girl) into custody for allegedly being part of a ganja smuggling racket which was being run in coordination with inter-State smugglers, near Appu Ghar at MVP Colony in the city on Saturday.

Police said that the accused persons had taken a house on rent in a residential neighbourhood near Appu Ghar and had turned it into a storehouse for ganja. They were allegedly involved in this business for the last three years, police said.

The accused persons have been identified as Mini Pradhan (30), Aswin Chinchani, both natives of Gajapati district in neighbouring Odisha, and Binu Ravindra (42) from Kerala. However, the main accused in the case, a person named Alex, is absconding.

Addressing a press meet, Police Commissioner R.K. Meena said that Alex was running the ganja smuggling racket by engaging other five persons to transport the weed to his contacts in various places. Mr. Meena said that for each delivery, Alex paid ₹6,000 to the smugglers. He had also roped in the two juveniles into the racket, and paid them a similar amount to deliver the contraband.

“Alex would procure ganja from interior areas of Visakhapatnam Agency and would bring it to the city, where he would store it in an asbestos-roofed house at Siva Ganesh Nagar in Appu Ghar area under MVP Colony limits,” Mr. Meena said.

‘Neighbours shocked’

“It came as a shock for neighbours when they learnt that the house was being used by the smugglers in a residential colony as a ganja storage point. The accused have been smuggling ganja for the last three years. In order to ward off suspicion from neighbours, the smugglers would mask the strong smell of ganja by spraying room-fresheners in the house,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-I) S. Ranga Reddy told The Hindu .

Manhunt for kingpin

Police seized 358 kg of ganja packed in 179 ganja bags, each weighing 2 kg, and also confiscated several mobile phones.

MVP Police Station Inspector Ch. Shanmukha Rao said that they have registered a case under Section 20(B)(i) of the NDPS Act. He also added that a manhunt has been launched for Alex’s arrest.

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