The Narcotics Intelligence Bureau (NIB) of the state police seized 300 kg ganja stuffed in an SUV in Perambur in the city on Monday and arrested two persons for smuggling the narcotics from Naxal-dominated hill area in Padagiri in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
NIB officials here said that the value of the seized narcotics and the Toyota Innova was around `45 lakh.
The police said that Sekar of Uslampatti and Rajapandi of Madurai had packed the dry ganja leaves in 15 kg packets and kept this in the vehicle, which was covered with sun-control film.
The arrested men had borrowed the vehicle from a neighbour saying that they were going to the Tirupati temple for darshan. “Along with the ganja, they had kept a pack of Tirupati laddus to give to the vehicle owner. However, now we have seized the vehicle,” the police said.
”Our ADGP Prateep V. Philip received a tip off about the vehicle carrying ganja coming to Tamil Nadu. We were waiting for it and intercepted it at the Vadapalani signal on Monday morning,” a NIB sleuth said.
Sekar has a history of ganja peddling. A warrant was pending against him since he was found to be involved in smuggling in 2007, the police said. Sleuths here said that the two had managed to establish contact with people in the Padagiri hill area where ganja is cultivated in large-scale with the help of Naxals in the area.
“They claimed that this was the first time they were smuggling the narcotic substance, but we believe they could have been doing it for some time,” the police said.