The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has reported the seizure of 210 kg of ganja in Chennai on Tuesday. The drug was packed along with sweet potatoes and polythene covers in order to conceal it. The shipment was meant for supply in Chennai, according to the anti-drug agency.
A statement from the bureau said that a commercial pick up van was intercepted in MGR Nagar, Rettaieri. The license plate of the van, reportedly registered in Andhra Pradesh, turned out to be fake.
A total of 210 kg of ganja was seized from the vehicle. A 28-year-old man from Theni district in Tamil Nadu, C Eshwaran, has been held.
According to a statement by NCB Zonal Director A Bruno, the contraband was sourced from the Andhra Pradesh Odisha border and a part of it was supposed to be handed over for supply in Chennai city. The trafficker, who was held, is wanted as accused in similar previous NCB cases.
The drug control agency also said that its Chennai team had earlier arrested a 54-year-old man named Natarajan also known as Raja, hailing from Tiruvallur district. He was caught on November 11 with 3.270 kg of Methamphetamine and 25.670 kg of Ephedrine and 270 gm of hashish. A search of his house also uncovered two strips, that is 20 tablets, of Alprazolam.
He has been produced before the Judicial Magistrate in Ambattur and remanded to judicial custody. Further investigations are underway, the NCB said.
Sleuths of the Customs Department in Chennai reported in November that they had seized 31 parcels of ganja which had arrived via foreign postal mail in the city. The consignments were picked up by the Postal Intelligence unit and were reportedly ordered from Canada, United Kingdom and the United States. K Parama Guru, a 28-year-old from Chennai, was arrested in the case.