The Bengaluru Police on Thursday seized 1 ton, 350 kg and 300 grams of marijuana stored underground at a goat farm in Kalaburagi district. After arresting an auto rickshaw driver, who was allegedly selling drugs to college students, the Seshadripuram police followed the trail of evidence and unearthed huge amounts of marijuana stored underground at a goat farm in Kalaburagi district.
The police have arrested four persons in connection with the case. Seshadripuram Police said that huge amounts of marijuana was being brought from Odisha to Karnataka in vegetable trucks and the accused were involved in distributing them across the state and even in Maharashtra.
#Bengaluru cops seize 1,350 kg ganja at a goat farm in #Kalaburagi huge amounts of ganja were being transported in vegetable trucks and stored underground. @thenewsminute @dhanyarajendran pic.twitter.com/7bBn4mVook
— Theja Ram (@thejaram92) September 10, 2020
The four accused include Jnanashekhar, the 37-year-old autorickshaw driver from Bengaluru, who allegedly sold the marijuana to college students in the city; Siddunath Lavate, a 22-year-old from Vijayapura’s Sindagi and owner of a 30 acre plot, who allegedly bought the marijuana from two other suppliers and transported it to Bengaluru and Mumbai; Naganath, a 39-year-old resident of Aurad in Bidar, who owned a clothing shop that went under during the lockdown. Police say that he turned to dealing drugs to Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to earn a living over the last five months; and Chandrakanth a 34-year-old resident of Kalaji in Kalaburagi district, who is the owner of the goat farm, where the marijuana was stored.
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Accused Siddunath Lavate (left), Chanadrakanth (centre) and Naganath (right)
On August 30, based on a tip off, the Seshadripuram Police arrested Jnanashekhar. The police had received information that he was allegedly storing marijuana in his autorickshaw and selling it to college students in the city. The police say they seized 2kg and 100 gm of marijuana from him. “He was not disclosing information as to where he got the contraband initially. If a person has 2kg of ganja and is directly selling it to students, it was obvious he had a handler who probably had larger quantities of ganja,” the Seshadripuram police said.
Interrogation revealed that Jnanashekar allegedly procured the marijuana from a 22-year-old man named Siddunath Lavate. Originally from Vijayapura, Siddunath was living in Madanayakanahalli in Bengaluru. The police arrested Siddunath Lavate on September 6 and seized 200 gm of marijuana. “It was suspicious that a handler had very little amount of ganja with him. After questioning, he revealed that the marijuana in his possession was over and a new shipment was slated to arrive in a few days,” the police said.
Further investigation revealed that these huge shipments were either coming from Bidar or Kalaburagi. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Anuchet and the Seshadripuram police approached Inspector General of Police (Western Range) Soumendra Mukherjee. Based on information, on September 8, the police intercepted a shipment of 150 kilograms of marijuana along NH 50 between Bidar and Kalaburagi. Two men -- Naganath and Chandrakanth were arrested while they were transporting the shipment near the NH 50 toll gate.
The probe led them to Lattu Nayak Tanda, a hamlet in Kalaburagi district, where accused Chandrakanth allegedly confessed to stocking huge amounts of marijuana. When the team of officers entered Chandrakanth’s goat farm, they realised there were no sheep inside the structure meant to house the goats.
The accused Chandrakanth, who was with the team during the spot inspection, showed them a trapdoor buried under the soil. Police officers dug out the mud and found a wooden trapdoor. When they opened it, they found a huge underground storage room, where boxes wrapped in white plastic and clingfilm, were stocked inside.
Over the last five months, Chandrakanth and Naganath have traveled to Odisha in Naganath’s truck, loaded boxes of marijuana and placed huge quantities of vegetables on top of them to avoid detection at the toll gate. The contraband was subsequently brought to Chadrakanth’s goat farm, where it was stored underground. This was later transported to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana by Naganath, while Chandrakanth took care of transporting it to parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra.
The accused have been booked under 120b (criminal conspiracy) and relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985 at the Seshadripuram Police Station.