By SNV Sudhir
Visakhapatnam, Sep 21, 2012: District police finally found a way to curtail ganja smuggling by investigating the lavish lifestyle of local ganja drug peddlers, to which they adapt overnight from the easy money made.
In the last 6 months, Narsipatnam division police alone seized around 6,000 kg of ganja and for the first time in the state, booked a local peddler under 68 (F) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act), which entitles police to seize the property acqui-red with the money earned by doing the offence.
Though police arrested many under the NDPS Act earlier, it did not yield result as those arrested were coming out of jail after some time and continuing smuggling ganja.
Recently police were astonished to find Rs.1.15 lakh in cash, 15 tolas of gold purchased very recently and documents related to the purchase of two acres at Rs.9 lakh per acre when they raided the residence of L. Thrinadh, who works as a petty auto driver in Benna Bupalapatnam in Rolugunta mandal.
“For the first time we have used this Section of NDPS and the seized property will be sent to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). We were surprised to see such a lavish lifestyle of a petty auto driver. He confessed to have peddled ganja,” Narsipat-nam ASP Tafseer Iqbal told this correspondent.
As smugglers from Tamil Nadu and Kerala have changed their modus operandi by engaging locals to transport ganja, 80 per cent of the households in a couple of villages in Rolungunta mandal have high end facilities, along with split ACs, most having earned money in ganja peddling.
“For an overnight consignment of transporting 100 kgs ganja, they earn around Rs.3 lakh. They earn this amount in just one consignment,” said the ASP. Interestingly the arrested auto driver flew several times to Chennai and Mumbai, the major hubs for the ganja trade. Police have also prepared a list of around 40 persons to crack down upon and seize properties.
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