Two houses raided, 3 kg ganja seized; efforts on to nab accused

Telangana Excise Department seizes 3kg ganja, 35 liquor bottles in Hyderabad raids; arrests made, investigation ongoing.

Close to three kilograms of ganja was seized during the raids conducted by the State Task Force under the Telangana Excise and Prohibition Department at two residences in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

In the first such case, 1.47 kilograms of ganja was seized from the residence of Kishna Singh in Dhoolpet. Following a tip-off, the police reached the house and arrested Kishna Singh and Vikash Singh and a booked a case against their accomplices Indresh Singh, Neet Bai, Gautam Singh and Govind Singh. Efforts are underway to trace them.

In another case, 1.44 kilograms of ganja was seized from a residence in Lal Darwaza. A case was booked against P. Nagaraju, Ujwala Sai Kumar Raju, K. Soujanya and Sheikh Ghulam who are allegedly involved in ganja trade from this place.

Meanwhile, in a joint operation, officials from the West Zone Task Force and Banjara Hills police arrested S. Prem Kumar, 21, and two consumers who purchased the narcotic substance from him. Two kilograms of the contraband was seized from him.

Police said Prem Kumar, an animation operator, reportedly bought ganja from a person named Shankar in Narsipatnam, Visakhapatnam. He brought the narcotic to Banjara Hills, repacked it into smaller packets, and attempted to sell it for easy profit.

In another operation, the STF seized 35 non-duty paid liquor bottles worth ₹1.05 lakh during a raid on M/S Heart Cup Cafe Restaurant and Bar in Medchal. The bar was allegedly selling liquor bottles sourced from a liquor shop in the area.

“The vodka and whiskey bottles in the bar were barcoded. The liquor bottles that were supposed to be in the name of this bar came from a liquor shop in another area. Instead of purchasing liquor locally from the depot, the bar owner purchased it from a liquor shop to evade taxes,” said Assistant Commissioner R Kishan.