Malkangiri: Kalimela police apprehended a group of seven individuals, including a police constable from Telangana, late Thursday night and arrested them on charges related to their involvement in the smuggling of cannabis in this district. The police charged the seven individuals under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Subsequently, they were produced before a court to face legal proceedings. Acting on intelligence information, a team under the leadership of Kalimela IIC Suryaprakash Nayak successfully intercepted the smugglers near Kamalapadar area, where they were caught red-handed with 103 kg ganja. The estimated street value of the seized contraband is approximately Rs 5 lakh. The constable, identified as R Sreeny Naik, was among those taken into custody during the operation.
Other accused were identified as J Bijaya Nayak of Mirpet area of Rangareddy district in Telangana, Balu Yadav of Osmanabad, Maharastra, K Laxman of Dulagundi village of Kalimela in Malkangiri, R Karthik, R Rajib and N Venugopal of Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. The seized items included two cars, three iPhones, as well as ATM, PAN, and Aadhaar cards. Preliminary reports suggest that the illicit consignment was being transported from Malkangiri to Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.