The Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths have apprehended two persons and seized 1,500 kg ganja worth Rs 12 crore.
This is the first time Bengaluru police have seized such a large quantity of ganja, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) S D Sharanappa told DH.
"A drug peddler named Salman was arrested in Chamarajpet and questioned about the source of the drugs. He then revealed about the gang in Visakhapatnam. Earlier, other suspects had mentioned the same source," he said.
After learning about the gang from Visakhapatnam, Bengaluru cops camped for three weeks in the Andhra Pradesh city and kept track of the developments. A suspicion about an Isuzu van led to the apprehension of the accused.
A senior police officer said that the gang used to procure ganja from farmers in a forest area in Andhra and stored it in ruins near a checkpost in Visakhapatnam. Later, they transported it to Karnataka by an Isuzu van, in which they had created a secret compartment near the chassis to hide the ganja.
The gang also packed contraband in Flipkart packages and sealed them to deceive the police. To avoid police radar, they created fake number plates for the van.
"The gang only supplied ganja to major peddlers and religiously avoided small customers,” said a police officer.
CCB booked the accused under Narcotics and Psychotropic Drugs Act.
Published 15 July 2023, 18:00 IST