Kingpin Sathayanarayana Reddy of Anantapur was arrested with the contraband in Samayapuram

The Narcotics Intelligence Bureau busted a drug cartel that procured marijuana from the Annavaram forests in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh and operated in the city and other districts of Tamil Nadu. After a filmy style covert operation, the NIB caught the kingpin, Sathayanarayana Reddy, 28, of Anantapur, with the contraband in Samayapuram, Tiruchi.

Ganja cultivation is rampant in Annavaram hills and places beyond, up to Odisha.

After ganja cultivation was abolished in Theni and Dindigul districts, drug peddlers started depending on supply from Andhra Pradesh. Ganja is being smuggled to Tamil Nadu and Kerala and distributed in and around schools and colleges in Chennai and other places of the State.

A senior police officer of NIB CID said, “The drug peddlers from Chennai go with their vehicle. On reaching the foothills, they hand over the vehicle to the local conduits. The locals take the vehicle and come back after four or five hours, with the vehicle filled with contraband. They plan the route to avoid A.P. police. The sellers of the contraband and peddlers have online transaction of money as well. They have a pilot vehicle to return from there, avoiding the police, and constantly change the route as per the instructions of the men in the pilot vehicle.” A special team had specific information about the movement of ganja from the hills of Andhra Pradesh to Madurai. After analysing the telephone records of criminals from the city, the team brought under scanner the peddler’s mobile phone with the help of a mobile service provider. A special team was posted along the connecting roads in the State.

Movement monitored

On Tuesday at 12.30 a.m, police began monitoring the movement of persons who were travelling in an Innova. A team discreetly followed the peddlers, but did not execute arrest or make any seizure. The team allowed the offenders to enter the State and kept track of them.

Finally, the team, headed by Deputy Superintendent of Police P.P.Julius Ceasar, decided to intercept the peddlers.

It requested the staff of the toll plaza in Samayapuram to close two bays.

However, the peddlers, sensing trouble, sped away breaking the cordon, but the police personnel hit the glass panel of the Innova with an iron rod. They chased them in a private vehicle. When the policemen hit the side of the Innova, the men in the car abandoned the vehicle and ran into the fields. The police personnel chased them and managed to nab Sathayanarayana Reddy, 28, of Anantapur, while the others escaped. Dry ganja weighing 176 kg was seized.

Superintendent of Police, NIB CID Z. Annie Vijaya said , “We have conducted combing operations across twelve police districts of city. The harvest season of ganja has just been completed in the neighbouring State. We have credible information that the contraband may reach Tamil Nadu. To ensure that the substance does not reach youngsters, we conducted this operation and will continue to pursue this case.”