Hyderabad: Shamirpet police on Friday, August 28, seized 5298 ganja-laced chocolates worth Rs 24.5 lakh that were allegedly being sold at pan shops and arrested a drug peddler.
The accused was identified as Bainath Kumar, a pan shop owner and resident of Shamirpet and a native of Bihar. His wife, identified as Poja Kumari, is absconding.
The couple resides in the Tummakunta area, where they operate a pan shop for their livelihood. A preliminary investigation revealed that due to insufficient income from the pan shop, the couple allegedly decided to procure ganja chocolates from Bihar at a low price and sell them in Tummakunta for higher profits.
The accused allegedly told police that ganja chocolates were available at Behri Bazar in Dhanauli village, Darbhanga, Bihar. According to his disclosure, his wife travelled to Bihar in June, procured the ganja chocolates and brought them to their residence in Tummakunta in a light brown-coloured suitcase.
To avoid detection, the couple allegedly kept the ganja chocolates at their residence. Whenever customers came to purchase them, the couple would allegedly take the chocolates from their home and sell them.
Kumar also told police that a packet containing approximately 40 chocolates was purchased for about Rs 200. Individual chocolates were allegedly sold for Rs 30 to Rs 50, while a complete packet was sold for around Rs 600.
Online payments were allegedly received through Google Pay and PhonePe accounts linked to the mobile numbers of the accused and his wife. Apart from the ganja chocolates, police seized Rs 1,760 in cash and Kumar’s mobile phone.
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