The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) of Visakhapatnam seized 600 kg of ganja worth Rs 60 lakh concealed in the false ceiling of a tempo on Sunday in Visakhapatnam.
DRI officials said that the contraband was brought from Paderu in Visakhapatnam and was taken to Warangal. However, based on specific intelligence inputs officials intercepted the vehicle near Narsipatnam in Visakhapatnam and found the drugs stashed in the false ceiling on the vehicle, while the carriage was empty.
Besides seizing the drugs and the vehicle, the driver also has been detained under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Act, 1985. Officials through a press release said that further investigation is underway.
In a similar drug seizure, recently, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence of Vijayawada seized 245.60 kg of ganja worth Rs 24.56 lakh while being transported illegally to Hyderabad. The drugs were being transported from Visakhapatnam, the vehicle was intercepted near Gollapudi in Vijayawada and the driver was arrested.
The transportation of drugs through vehicles by concealing them has been a regular occurance in recent times.
In January, officials seized 330 kg ganja while being smuggled from the Visakha agency to Vijayawada. The drug package was concealed under cabbages. The Visakhapatnam agency is notorious for ganja production.
The DRI officials have been cracking down on all the drug dealers in the state. Last month, DRI Hyderabad busted an illegal drug manufacturing unit in Bollarum. Officials recovered 179 kg of party drug (ephedrine) worth more than Rs 5 crore, and arrested two persons involved in the crime.
It was one of the major overhauls caught by the department. Officials had seized the raw materials and sealed the unit. Earlier, the department had seized 50 kg of party drug from Hyderabad in 2016, while the drugs were being sold at a hotel.