HYDERABAD: More than 700km from the psychedelic lights of Mumbai party circuits lies a harvest of wild, leafy cannabis hidden amidst cotton bulbs at Bantwaram village in Telangana’s Vikarabad district. Large consignments of the contraband are bought from farmers by a Latur gang for 2,000/kg and smuggled on a train to Mumbai to give addicts their high. And peddlers make a killing by selling it at 7,000/kg.
Investigations point to a nexus between organized gangs and local police after raids by excise sleuths unearthed the illegal crop hidden in sprawling cotton fields of Bantwaram, a non-descript village 90km from state capital Hyderabad. The cannabis stock is being dispatched to Mumbai and Hyderabad for more than two years.
When raids were conducted by prohibition and excise officials in coordination with other district officials last week, officials could seize only 41 ganja plants and the cache weighed 20kg.
The drug cartel has an intricate network in the village and farmers were tipped off about an impending raid. Many swiftly uprooted the plants, fearing arrest. TOI correspondent found ganja crop stashed way in bushes for drying.
When Lakshma Reddy, who has been clandestinely cultivating ganja on his 12-acre cotton field, was questioned, he told investigators about an organized network from Telangana to Mumbai fueled by drug dons from Latur in Maharashtra. A probe also revealed that members of Vikarabad mandal were independently lifting stocks and transporting contraband to Latur, before moving to Mumbai.
Bureau Report
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