In a shocking incident on Tuesday the Railway police in Hyderabad seized 156 Kgs of ganja (marijuana) from passengers travelling by the Konark Express. The police have apprehended four women and two couples.
All the accused aged between 27 and 40 were caught at the Warangal railway station. The local railway police booked the offenders under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic substances (NDPS) Act.
During January and July this year, the police records show a total of 1,078 Kgs of ganja traveling via the South Central Railway has been seized by the officials.
Additional Director General of Railway Safety, T. Krishnaprasad said, “During special raids conducted from July 18 onwards, 679 Kg of ganja has been seized and 34 persons have been arrested. In most of the cases, ganja was found stashed in the luggage bags and covered in multiple layers to keep the smell at bay.”
The recent incident the women and two couples were transporting the ganja in 15 different luggage bags.
The officials also reported that in just the last few weeks, police have seized ganja nine times from Konark Express making it the go to express for peddlers.
Sources at the Government Railway Police reported, “While a part of the contraband is offloaded in Hyderabad, the remaining is carried to Mumbai.”
The officials are concerned with the increase in supply of ganja and have noticed the quality of ganja has gotten better in 2017 compared to the previous years.
