In a major haul, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) sleuths have seized 814 kilos of marijuana brought to the city by inter-state peddlers from Andhra-Odisha border to supply it to New Year revellers in Mumbai and Hyderabad.

BCCL

On Friday night, DRI sleuths who were keeping a watch on the activities of narcotic peddlers had received a specific alert about huge consignment of marijuana coming to the city.

The team which lay in waiting on the outskirts of the city saw the lorry with Chhattisgarh registration moving towards Shamshabad and they followed it. The lorry went into Sujata Garden farmhouse located at Palmakula village near Shamshabad.

As soon as the DRI team entered the farmhouse, five persons sitting in the lorry and in a Tavera vehicle jumped the compound wall and vanished under the cover of darkness. DRI sleuths then took the watchman of the farmhouse into custody and searched the vehicles.

BCCL

"We have seized 270 packets of high quality marijuana from inside the truck, 20 packets from Tavera and 60 more packets were found in one of the room in the farmhouse.The total weight of the marijuana is 814.5 kilos," a DRI official said.

After the raid, DRI sleuths shifted the contraband to Shamshabad police station and made an inventory. During the preliminary probe, the revenue intelligence sleuths found that the registration number of the lorry was fake. The Tavera is from the city. During the interrogation, the watchman gave vague details about the owner of the farmhouse. DRI sleuths are on the job to zero in on the absconding accused.

BCCL

"The market value of the seized marijuana is Rs 81.44 lakh. As per the preliminary information, the marijuana was procured from Andhra-Odisha border and meant for supply to peddlers in Mumbai and Hyderabad," said a DRI official.

Along with the marijuana, DRI sleuths also seized the truck and Tavera from the spot.