Odisha man held with 20 kg ganja in bus near Hyderabad

HYDERABAD: Ranga Reddy excise enforcement officials seized 20.6 kg of ganja from a passenger travelling on a Volvo bus from Odisha to Hyderabad. Police arrested the accused, identified as Nabhi Naik alias Hari, a resident of Odisha.

Smuggler hid ganja in bus luggage compartment

Officials said Naik had packed the contraband in four bags and placed them in the luggage compartment of the air-conditioned bus. He then travelled comfortably inside, posing as a regular passenger.

Based on credible information, Assistant Excise Superintendent Jeevan Kiran, along with Circle Inspectors Subhash Chander and Balaraju, and Sub-Inspectors Venkat Ravi and Akhil, intercepted the bus near Ramoji Film City and conducted checks. They found the four bags containing 20.6 kg of ganja, valued at ₹11 lakh.

Accused had earlier faced SOT action

Officials reported that the Special Operations Team (SOT) of Raidurg police had previously arrested Naik for large-scale ganja smuggling in Hyderabad.  After his release, he resumed the illegal trade, procuring the substance from Odisha and transporting it to Hyderabad.

The arrested person and seized contraband were handed over to the Hayathnagar excise station for further investigation.

Excise Enforcement Director Shanwaz Qasim, Deputy Commissioner P. Dasharath, and Assistant Commissioner R. Kishan commended the enforcement team for the operation.