The Task Force wing of Excise and Prohibition Department arrested two persons from Uttar Pradesh on charges of smuggling ganja and recovered 690 kg of the contraband worth ₹50 lakh from a lorry, in Peddapadu area under Narsipatnam Rural Police Station limits on Wednesday.

The accused have been identified as Ashreef Ansari and Babu Lal, aged 40 years and residents of Uttar Pradesh.

They were transporting the ganja to Lucknow from Odisha via Visakhapatnam.

“Acting on a tip-off, a team Enforcement officials intercepted a lorry near Peddapadu. The accused allegedly procured the contraband from one Ravindra at Chitrakonda in Odisha on February 5 and were shifting it to Lucknow via the cityvia Visakhapatnam,” Excise & Prohibition Circle Inspector (Anakapalle) K. Kameswara Rao said.

Two more people are involved in the case, but they are yet to be arrested, the officials said.

Modus operandi

Giving details about the modus operandi, Mr. Kameswara Rao said that the accused had stored the ganja in a fabricated cabin specially built for the purpose inside the lorry to evade police checking.

“The accused had procured the contraband for ₹1,500 per kg at Chitrakonda and were planning to sell it at ₹ 8,000 per kg in Uttar Pradesh. As per the deal, the accused were support to hand over the consignment to one Tiwary at Lucknow,” Mr. Kameswara Rao added.

The officials seized the lorry, a cellphone and ₹3,000 in cash from the accused. A case has been registered and investigation is on.