AP: Sale of liquor, beer down; 57,512 alcohol smuggling cases reported in 2021

Amravati: Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday said that he stands firm on the elimination of drugs from universities, and asked officials to conduct raids to curb the cultivation and transportation of marijuana in the state

On Thursday, the AP chief minister took stock of the situation regarding drug peddling, liquor sale and sand sale, and ordered officials to keep tabs on developments regarding the same. The YSRCP chief ordered officials to conduct raids at universities at regular intervals to curb the flow of drugs, said a statement from his office.

With regards to liquor consumption, the statement from his office claimed that prices have been increased in order to reduce consumption, which has resulted in considerable drop in its flow in the state. According to the press release, sale of liquor dropped from 34,000 cases per month to 21,000 cases per month recently.

Similarly, the sale of beer has declined from 17 lakh cases a month to 7 lakh cases a month. Officials were ordered to take strict actions against illegal liquor trafficking. Officials, during a meeting, told Jagan Mohan Reddy that so far, 1 20822 cases of alcohol smuggling and manufacturing were registered and 125202 persons were arrested.

Of that, last year alone 63,310 cases were reported, and in 2021, 57,512 cases of alcohol smuggling  were registered. Similarly, 8.30 lakh liters of illegal liquor and 8.07 lakh litres of country made liquor, among other things, were seized and destroyed, the release added.

The statement from Jagan Mohan Reddy’s office also stated that 18,686 kg of ganja was seized by registering 220 cases and 384 people who were involved have been arrested.

Jagan Mohan Reddy’s missive to government officials comes two days after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 2,988.21 kg heroin worth over Rs 15,000 crore from two containers at the Mundra port in Gujarat’s Kutch district and subsequently arrested a couple that runs an import firm from Chennai.

The consignment was imported by a trading company registered in Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh. It was declared as semi-processed talc stones originating from Afghanistan and shipped from Bandar Abbas Port in Iran to Mundra Port in Gujarat, officials said

TDP questions govt on ‘unchecked smuggling’

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) state general secretary Budda Venkanna on Thursday demanded the Jaganmohan Reddy government to explain to the people the reports of “unchecked smuggling of heroin, cocaine, and ganja” in Andhra Pradesh in the past two and a half years.

Venkanna asked why the government and the police officials were not responding when over Rs 21,000 crore worth heroin was allegedly caught earlier. He further claimed that the tainted firm was registered in Vijaywada and that ganja sale was going on in the vicinity of the chief minister’s house itself.

As the sale of drugs is rampant in tea stalls and pan shops, import and use of drugs have become an alarming issue in the face of an inactive intelligence wing, the TDP leader further alleged.

Speaking to the media at Amaravati on Thursday, Venkanna said that the state police were solely busy “filing fabricated cases and making false arrests” of TDP leaders without any focus on the law and order. “Crime rate has increased and now, the threat of drug abuse has been growing alarmingly all over the state,” he remarked

It was a “million-dollar question” why the ruling YSRCP is keeping very silent on the role of the Vijaywada firm in the Rs 21,000 crore heroin smuggling, Venkanna said. “All this heroin was caught in the Gujarat port and one Sudhakar was caught in connection with this massive smuggling and he was a benami of a YSRCP leader belonging to Kakinada,” he added.