Hyderabad: Acting on reliable intelligence, officers of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Hyderabad Zone, arrested three people – all residents of Bidar district – and 813 kilograms of ganja in the early hours of Tuesday, January 13, in a coordinated operation.
During the operation, two NCB teams were deployed to intercept a specially modified lorry suspected of transporting narcotic drugs from Malkangiri district, Odisha, to Latur in Maharashtra. The vehicle was intercepted at the outskirts of Hyderabad.
Upon detailed search conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the lorry was found to have an expired registration certificate (RC) and was specially modified for the crime. “The vehicle contained a cylindrical cavity resembling a tank to conceal contraband. The cavity was camouflaged using grass and covered with a tarpaulin sheet, inside which 813 kilograms of ganja were concealed and recovered,” NCB officials said.
All the accused are residents of Bidar district in Karnataka. Investigation revealed that one of them is a habitual narco offender. Earlier, he was involved in two ganja cases, one in Karnataka and the other in Maharashtra, the official added.
The NCB is actively investigating the source, destination network, forward and backward linkages and the involvement of other members of the drug trafficking syndicate, including financial trails, officials said.
The NCB has withheld the names of the accused saying that it may hamper the investigation.
Further investigation is in progress, officials said.
