News and Update

29 March 2010
Chennai, India

Drug In Gunny Bags Said To Be Worth Rs 3Cr
A lazy Sunday afternoon on the 100 Feet Road near the Vadapalani bus depot became active after Narcotics Intelligence Bureau (NIB) sleuths seized 2,500 kg of ganja estimated to be worth about Rs 3 crore – hidden in gunny bags – from an oil tanker.

The driver, identified as Karthikeyan (31), was arrested and a hunt launched for six others, including Pavunupandian of Madurai who is said to be the kingpin of the trade. Five special teams have been formed for the purpose, officials said.

According to the police, the NIB officials received a tip–off from Theni about a huge consignment of ganja being transported to Tamil Nadu from Andhra Pradesh. There was also information that the transit point was Chennai.

Immediately, K P Mahendran, ADGP (crime), ordered immediate checking at entry points into Chennai. The Superintendent of Police of NIB–CID, P Vijayakumari, formed a special team comprising NIB inspectors Lingathirumaran, K Duraipandian and T Jnanaraj.

They reached the Vadapalani bus terminus by noon and began checking vehicles entering the city. One of the vehicles stopped was an oil tanker. The driver Karthikeyan said he was returning from Visakhapatnam after delivering a consignment. At first, the sleuths thought the drugs they were searching for couldn’t be hidden in a wet container.

However, they didn’t want any stone left unturned and decided to check inside. A policeman clambered on top of the tanker and using a stick, began to poke inside. The stick hit something solid.

The policeman then climbed down into the container, found gunny bags that were later found to contain ganja. To prevent oil from spoiling the narcotic, the gunny bags had been layered with a newspaper and a blue plastic sheet forming the second and third. The packed ganja was placed inside these gunny bags.

During interrogation, Karthikeyan said that he had been asked to drive the lorry and that he knew nothing else.


Source: Times of India