Rajahmundry: Raja Intensified vigil has helped police restrict smuggling of ganja especially in Rampachodava-ram agency in East Godavari. The suspects have been adopting novel strategies for smuggling mainly from Visakha agency areas to Hyderabad via agency areas in East Godavari district.

Of late, the illegal traffickers have been using dickeys of two-wheelers to smuggle ganja for some distance while some of them are using pilot vehicles trailed by a vehicle carrying bulk consignment. Some others have got the vehicles modified to conceal the contraband for smuggling. Some smugglers send a small consignment of ganja in a vehicle to be caught by the police so that huge consignment will follow without any checking.

So far, police has seized about 3,000 kg ganja and nabbed 450 persons. Five of them have been convicted for smuggling ganja while the authorities are on the lookout for about 30 smugglers in Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and others who are on the wanted list.

Rampachodavaram ASP Adnan Nayeem Asmi said, "We have managed to drastically curb smuggling of ganja especially via agency areas in Rampachodavaram with the close vigil being maintained on the movement of smugglers. We also have regular frisking of vehicles including RTC buses. The nearly 450 arrests and five convictions serve as a deterrent to the smugglers to avoid our agency to smuggle ganja."