Hyderabad
Four inter-state narcotics smugglers were on Monday arrested in Rachakonda near Hyderabad for allegedly transporting ganja from Malkangiri in Odisha to Maharashtra via the Telangana capital, police said.
Rachakonda police commissioner Mahesh Bhagawat said the four arrested were identified as Vikas Baban Salve (28), Vinod Chandravan Kalkar (26) and Kishore Thulsiram Wadekar (24) – all from Maharashtra and Kosa Chitti Babu (19) from Malkangiri of Odisha.
The special operations team (SOT) of police from L B Nagar zone and Alair town, who conducted the joint operation, seized 900 kg of ganja, an Eicher DCM van containing coconut load and five mobile phones – all worth ₹2 crore.
Bhagawat said on a specific tip-off, the SOT police waylaid a van near Prakash Gardens, Alair of Yadadri Bhongir district, on Warangal-Hyderabad national highway (NH-163) and found the accused transporting the narcotics from Odisha to Maharasthra.
“We have booked a case under Section 8 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act-1985 at Alair police station,” the police commissioner said.
Bhagawat said Yogesh Dattu Gaikwad was found to be the kingpin in this racket and he had good terms with the ganja sellers at Malkangiri of Odisha state. “He and others concealed ganja packets under the coconut load and proceeding to Maharashtra via Hyderabad,” the commissioner added.