Daijiworld Media Network – Hyderabad
Hyderabad, Jul 12: The Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE) Force of the Telangana Police has seized 41.01 kg of Ganja worth around Rs 20.5 lakh from a private travels bus in Hyderabad and arrested three persons in connection with the case.
The operation was carried out on July 11 at Auto Nagar by the Rachakonda Narcotics Police Station team with assistance from the Regional Narcotics Control Cell (RNCC), Khammam.
Police recovered the contraband from a Baba Bholonath Travels bus registered in Odisha. The bus and four mobile phones were also seized.
The arrested have been identified as Laxman Kurami (22), a bus helper from Malkangiri; Komala Khil (32), the driver from Koraput; and Bubu Madakami (33), the conductor from Malkangiri. All three are residents of Odisha.
According to investigators, two other accused remain absconding — Nubin, a resident of Malkangiri, and an unidentified receiver based in Hyderabad.
During interrogation, the accused allegedly admitted that they had agreed to transport the ganja from Odisha to Hyderabad in return for a commission and were to hand it over to a contact in the city.
A case has been registered at the Rachakonda Narcotics Police Station, and further investigation is underway.
The EAGLE Force said this is the third recent case involving private bus staff allegedly being used to transport ganja. On May 21, officials had seized 21 kg of ganja from another private bus travelling from Malkangiri to Hyderabad and arrested four bus staff members.
Police urged private bus operators to remain vigilant and ensure their vehicles are not misused for drug trafficking.
Meanwhile, the EAGLE Force, in coordination with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Raipur, recently busted an interstate ganja trafficking network by seizing 385 kg of ganja near the Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra border after a seven-day surveillance operation. One accused was arrested after being tracked from Jeypore in Odisha before reaching Maharashtra and Rajasthan.