Hyderabad court sentences man to 20 years in jail for transporting ganja

A local court sentenced a 25-year-old man to 20 years rigorous imprisonment in a case of possessing and transporting interstate 1,427 kilograms of ganja in the truck driven by him. Ganja or cannabis is a narcotic drug under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

The Metropolitan Sessions Judge found the accused Nadeem guilty of the charges under Section 8(c) punishable under Section 20(b)(ii)(C) of the NDPS Act and sentenced him to jail for 20 years and ordered him to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) said in a release on Tuesday.

Acting on specific intelligence, officers of the DRI, Hyderabad Zonal Unit had intercepted a truck on August 20, 2020 at Panthangi Toll Plaza on Vijayawada-Hyderabad Highway, which resulted in seizure of 1,427 kg of cannabis, being transported illicitly and the truck driver was subsequently arrested, it said.

After completion of the investigation, the officers of DRI filed a complaint against the accused before the Metropolitan Sessions Judge, who on completion of trial found the accused guilty of the offence and sentenced him accordingly, the release added.

In a separate instance, three ganja smugglers were caught with 81 kg of the contraband worth nearly Rs 40 lakh hidden in mattresses in a goods carrier with metal cots at Nalagandla X Road in Chandanagar on Tuesday, April 12. The trio had bought it in Odisha for sale in the city.

The Special Operations Team (SOT) of Madhapur busted the gang on a specific tip and arrested Pastham Raju (37), Y Venkat Reddy (48), G Praveen Reddy (37), all from Mahbubabad. While Raju and Venkat were in the goods carrier, Praveen was in a car acting as pilot vehicle.

According to Cyberabad Police, the main accused Pastham Raju, who travels frequently for his metal cot business, ventured into ganja peddling after coming into contact with a supplier in Odisha.

With PTI inputs