Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

Is Vijayawada becoming a hub for ganja smuggling?

G.V.R. Subba Rao

VIJAYAWADA: Is the city, of late, turning into a hub for transportation of ganja in the State?

Officials of the Railways and the Excise Department, as well as the City Police, agree that because of its good connectivity both by rail and road, Vijayawada has become an important transit point for illegal smuggling of ganja.

But what seems to be making things easier for the smugglers is lack of coordination among various government agencies involved in detection of these cases.

All the cases that have so far been detected are a result of individual efforts of three main agencies – the Government Railway Police (GRP), the Prohibition & Excise Department and the City Police – and mostly by accident.

As no joint operation has been conducted so far, there has been no instance of detection of any huge quantity of ganja.

The amount of ganja that is being smuggled through the city would be about 20 times more than what has so far been detected, officials of these departments admit.

The GRP, Vijayawada, registered three cases in the last two years, while the Prohibition & Excise Department detected eight cases from April 1, 2004 to March 31, 2006, and seven cases from April 1, 2006 till date.

The City Police detected 16 cases till date in the last four years. While it was only three cases in 2004, as many as six cases were registered in 2005. The number came down to four in 2006.

While the GRP assert that the smugglers prefer road transportation, the City Police maintain that smugglers like to carry the ganja by train. Officials of the Prohibition & Excise Department contend that it is “humanly impossible” to check all the lorries and buses that pass through Vijayawada.

“Frankly, there is no focus on ganja smuggling. We don’t deny that the city is a junction for ganja transportation. As it is usually transported by trains, we don’t venture into their jurisdiction,” says Commissioner of Police C.V. Anand. He admits no joint operation has been conducted so far to curb the smuggling. GRP DSP B. Vijay Kumar maintains: “We don’t get any information in advance. We intercept the smugglers only during regular checks.”

Officials of the Prohibition & Excise Department say that they do not concentrate on ganja smuggling as they have to meet other targets such as liquor sales.

The enforcement wing of the department, which has to enforce excise laws, pleads that severe shortage of manpower is a stumbling block for them to check ganja smuggling. The police point out that ganja smugglers from places like Warangal throw ganja bags at pre-designated places near Krishna Canal, where trains usually slow down. They collect these bags later and distribute the quantity to be taken to other places at Tadepalli on the other side of Krishna River. “Three to four persons, including a woman, regularly sell ganja on retail basis in the city. We nabbed her some time back,” Anti Goonda Squad SI S.S.V.V. Nagaraju said recently.

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