Seven ganja peddlers held, 4.5 kg ganja and cash seized

Anantapur: The Anantapur three town police busted a ganja peddling network and arrested seven accused, seizing 4.5 kg of ganja, eight mobile phones, Rs2,700 in cash, and a motorcycle, following the instructions of District SP P Jagadeesh.

According to police, the accused Haji Rahmath alias Kurugunta Buvamma (47), Etti Manoj Kumar (33), Sheikh Aslam Basha alias Bablu (27), Bandalawada Ravi Kumar alias Pashi (28), Eluru Salomon alias Murali (27), Jyothula Praveen Kumar alias Laddu (21), and Sollam Dinesh Goud (25) had formed a gang to make quick money through illegal drug trade.

Investigations revealed that Manoj Kumar and Aslam Basha, who were addicted to ganja and other substances, befriended Rahmath and later roped in four others to expand the network. The trio reportedly travelled from Anantapur to Tuni in Visakhapatnam district, where they procured 10 kg ganja at Rs5,000 per kg from an unidentified supplier near the railway station, and transported it back to Anantapur by train.

The gang sold 4 kg of the contraband in Bagepalli, Karnataka, at Rs18,000 per kg.