Officials from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) reportedly seized 1,161 kg of marijuana or ganja on Saturday, after they intercepted a truck in Visakhapatnam.
The Times of India reported that the agency had acted on a tip-off, and the final destination of the smuggled drug was yet to be established.
"The smugglers had placed a layer of gravel on truck's floor and covered it with a thick plastic sheet.Then, they placed 386 sacks of marijuana, each containing three kg of the narcotic substance, over the plastic sheet and then placed a plastic sheet above them. Over the plastic sheet, two layers of gravel were dumped and the entire load was covered with a tarpaulin,“ a DRI official told TOI.
Officials in Andhra have been cracking down on Marijuana, as they say that it is mostly grown by Maoists along the Andhra-Odisha border, who also lure tribals to cultivate the crop.
Earlier this month, the Advanced Data Processing Research Institute (ADRIN) reportedly pitched in, and spotted ganja cultivation areas in the dense forests of Visakhapatnam.
After three patches were spotted by ADRIN, the Prohibition and Excise department together with the armed forces went to these areas and confirmed the cultivation of ganja.
The crop was destroyed and the tribals in these areas were told not to indulge in ganja cultivation.
Andhra CM N Chandrababu Naidu has ordered police officials to take strict action against people indulging in ganja cultivation.
In July last year, the state government stepped up efforts to curb the smuggling of marijuana in the Visakhapatnam agency area with a massive awareness drive in more than a hundred villages.
Mandal-level committees were formed to identify villages where marijuana is cultivated by farmers for money.
The government also added that it will help the farmers and other people involved in various levels of the trade by providing them with alternate employment.
The police had also set up CCTV cameras and identified routes via which the marijuana is smuggled to crackdown on it.