The Special Task Force teams of Excise and Prohibition Department arrested 11 persons when they were transporting around 500 kg of ganja from the interior areas of G. Madugula to V. Agraharam village in Visakhapatnam district on Tuesday.
The accused were found shifting the contraband through the forest route by walk.
As the department has stepped up surveillance on the vehicles plying in the Agency areas since the last one month, the accused decided to shift ganja through forest on foot, the officials said.
Forest route
“On early morning Monday, as many as 25 persons, all belonging to G. Madugula mandal, reportedly started on foot from the interior areas, each carrying a 20 kg pack of contraband stuffed in gunny bags. They decided to have three stops along their route. They were supposed to reach V. Agraharam village by Tuesday morning. Acting on a tip-off, the excise teams conducted a raid when the smugglers were about to reach their destination,” the officials said, adding that 14 people managed to escape.
Further investigation revealed that one Vajram alias Konda Babu from G. Madugula had supplied the contraband, while V. Varahala Babu was supposed to receive it at V. Agraharam. Konda Babu was allegedly involved in a few ganja smuggling cases. “Konda Babu has promised to give ₹5,000 per courier for shifting ganja. Around 30% of the group are youngsters. A search has been launched to trace the other accused including Konda Babu and Vajram,” Anakapalle Excise Inspector Kameswara Rao said.