City police seize 1,335.4 kg marijuana in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: The city zonal unit of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on Monday seized 1,335.4 kg of marijuana, said to be worth over Rs 2 crore in the market, from two persons who were intercepted near the Pedda Amberpet toll plaza on the Outer Ring Road.

The two persons were smuggling the marijuana in a lorry from Bhadrachalam in Bhadradri Kothagudem district to Bidar in Karnataka. Based on specific information, the DRI officials intercepted the lorry, which had paddy husk as the declared load, at the Pedda Amberpet toll plaza. The officials found several bags containing marijuana concealed inside the paddy husk and seized 1,335.4 kg of marijuana worth Rs 2 crore.

The DRI officials found that a duplicate registration number was pasted on the top of the actual registration number of the vehicle to avoid detection. The vehicle driver, who was



travelling with his associate, said the contraband was loaded near Bhadrachalam and it was being transported to Bidar.

The DRI officials said the two persons were arrested under the provisions of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act while further investigation is on. This is not the first time that the DRI has intercepted a ganja smuggling vehicle and made such a major seizure in the State. In July 2019, the DRI’s zonal unit seized marijuana weighing 962 kg, said to be worth Rs 1.92 crore in Siddipet, while a month before that, in June, the DRI busted another marijuana smuggling racket and seized 944.7 kg of the drug, worth Rs 1.88 crore, at LB Nagar here.

The enormity of Tuesday’s seizure can be judged from the fact that the marijuana seized by the City Police in Hyderabad throughout 2019 was 493 kg.