Ganja peddler's aide arrested, cops seize 400 kgs of marijuana

Prasad and Firoz would procure 15-20 kg of ganja from Vizag, AP, at cheap rates and bring it to Bengaluru by train

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: In a major seizure, the city police confiscated a staggering 400 kilograms of ganja, estimated to be worth Rs 2.47 crore after arresting one accused allegedly involved in drug peddling here on Sunday.

Police identified the accused as Abdul Rehman, a resident of DJ Halli in Bengaluru. Police said that the arrest was made following an investigation into another drug peddler Nawaz, who was earlier caught selling ganja near Tannery Road in the city. During interrogation, Nawaz reportedly revealed that he had purchased ganja from notorious peddlers Firoz Khan and Prasad from Andhra Pradesh.

Upon receiving information that Firoz Khan and Prasad had arrived in Bengaluru to sell a large quantity of ganja, the DJ Halli police launched a raid on February 27. Although the two accused managed to evade capture, Abdul Rehman, who was with them, was caught by the cops. He subsequently led the police to a rented house in DJ Halli, where the ganja was stored.

Abdul Rehman has been in jail several times for peddling ganja and the police were on his lookout for several years, police sources said. According to them, peddlers had devised a new strategy to supply ganja to evade detection. Prasad and Firoz would procure 15- 20 kg of ganja from Vizag, Andhra Pradesh, at cheap rates and bring it to Bengaluru by train.

An hour before the train was to arrive in Bengaluru they would alert Abdul Rehman. Abdul Rehman would then wait near the railway tracks at DJ Halli for the train and collect the gunny bags containing ganja thrown out by Firoz Khan and Prasad from the moving train. He then would transport the sacks of ganja on a two-wheeler to the rented house and store them there.