Nearly 100 kg ganja seized in Telangana

Telangana Excise Department seizes over 95 kg ganja worth ₹51 lakh in multiple operations, leading to several arrests.

Over 95 kg ganja were seized by the Telangana Excise and Prohibition Department in separate operations. The total value of the contraband and vehicles seized is estimated to be over ₹51 lakh.

In the first operation, the State Task Force (STF) arrested Jaliloddin Siddiqui Ahmed Hussain and Lakshmibai while they were travelling in a car near Pothureddypalli on National Highway 65. The team seized 20.6 kg ganja worth about ₹10 lakh.

The two were taken into custody and a third individual, Krishna Kona, has also been booked in connection with the case.

According to investigators, Hussain works as a machine operator in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, but turned to ganja trafficking two years ago. Despite a previous arrest and jail term in a similar offence in 2023, he continued smuggling ganja from Sileru to various locations across Maharashtra.

In a separate operation in Bhadrachalam, officials seized 75 kg ganja and a car, together worth ₹41 lakh, near the Godavari sand ramp. The contraband was being transported from Odisha to Rajasthan. Acting on a tip-off, the enforcement team intercepted the vehicle and arrested two individuals from Rajasthan, Anil Kumar Sharma and Mukesh Kumar Dev.

During questioning, the duo said the ganja had been supplied by Durga Prasad from Palvancha, who has been booked.

Meanwhile, the Sangareddy Prohibition and Excise Department registered three separate cases, resulting in the seizure of 3.315 kg ganja and the arrest of three individuals. Officials also seized the vehicles used for transport of the contraband.