Officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 1,121.5 kilograms of ganja, estimated to be worth Rs 1.68 crores in the market.

In a major drug bust, officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 1,121 kilograms of ganja, estimated to be worth Rs 1.68 crores in the market, from a truck travelling on Vijayawada-Hyderabad national highway.

Based on a tip-off, officials intercepted a Tata Truck bearing a Maharashtra license plate at the highway’s Panthangi Toll Plaza in Telangana’s Yadadri Bhuvanagiri District. Upon inspection of the truck, which first seemed to be carrying fly ash bricks, several packages were found concealed between the bricks.

“Upon search of the said vehicle, the officers found 546 High-density polyethene (HDPE) packages wrapped with Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) self-adhesive tape with a total weight of 1121.5 kgs of cannabis found concealed beneath a load of fly ash bricks. The value of seized ganja in the grey market would be around Rs 1,68,22,500,” the DRI said in a release.

“The contraband was loaded into the vehicle at Sileru (agency area) and was destined to Solapur in Maharashtra. The said narcotic drug, the vehicle which has been used for concealment and transport of the contraband has been seized,” the officials added.

The DRI said that three people have been arrested under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 and further investigation was underway.

The arrest came a day after officials from the Commissioner’s Task Force (CTF) in Vijayawada seized around 236 kg of ganja worth Rs 10 lakh from a truck in the late hours of Tuesday and arrested two persons.

Investigation officials said that the ganja was packed in over 100 packets, each weighing 2 kg. They suspect that the smugglers were transporting ganja from Visakhapatnam’s Agency area to towns like Guntur and Tadepalli, through Vijayawada city. They are said to hail from Tamil Nadu and were also booked under the NDPS Act. The accused were later presented in front of a local magistrate and sent to judicial remand.