In one of the biggest drug busts in recent times in the city, the Telangana State Anti-Narcotics Bureau (TSNAB), along with Langar House police, apprehended six ganja peddlers and seized 44 kg of ganja, 4 cars, 8 cell phones, and sale proceeds of Rs 12 lakhs on Wednesday, August 16.
The property seized from the possession of the accused is worth up to one crore rupees, according to the police. The arrested have been identified as Vankudoth Veeranna, Ajmeera Veeranna, Surneni Manoj, Merugu Madhu, Prashanth Naik Tejavath, and Mohd Jahangir.
On a tip-off, TSNAB, accompanied by the Langar house police, nabbed all six accused when they were proceeding in two cars with ganja. Police said that the seized material was later handed over to the SHO Langar House PS for further investigations.
Police said the key supplier, Vankudoth Veeranna, also known as Veeru, assisted his maternal uncle, Tejavath Chanda, 70, in supplying ganja. Veeru observed that his uncle was earning a lot of money with the bare minimum effort, and he decided to continue assisting him. He started supplying ganja himself in 2018 and learned to conceal ganja in modified compartments in the vehicles so that it wouldn’t be detected during a police check.
He purchased high-end SUVs and redesigned them with extra compartments at welding shops to conceal ganja. Veeru even hired drivers to assist him in transporting ganja and had even gotten police sirens fitted on his vehicles to escape tolls and check posts, posing as police.
The police said that the accused, Vankudoth Veerana, already has five cases registered against him.