Inter-state drug bust: Thane cops seize 115kg ganja; 13 arrested in 1,800km racket

KALYAN: In a major crackdown, the Khadakpada police station under Thane police in Kalyan busted a state-level drug supply network stretching nearly 1,800km from Maharashtra to the dense forests of Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

A total of 13 people, including small-time peddlers and wholesale suppliers, were arrested in the operation and over 115kg of ganja was seized on-site.Police said the accused would bring ganja from the remote forest areas of the border regions of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, where some villagers would cultivate it. The accused would then bring the drugs to supply in different parts of Maharashtra.To avoid getting detected in the forest, the accused relied on walkie-talkie devices for communication in areas with no mobile network, enabling them to escape police raids.The racket came to light earlier this month when two local drug suppliers, Babar Sheikh and Gufran Sheikh, were caught selling ganja in Ambivli near Kalyan. Following this, deputy commissioner of police (Kalyan Zone) Atul Zende formed a special team under senior police inspector Amarnath Waghmode of Khadakpada police station.The investigation gradually widened. After Ambivli, police nabbed two more accused from Dombivli.

Subsequent arrests in Badlapur, Pune, and Solapur helped investigators trace the supply chain all the way to Visakhapatnam's forest region, around 1,800 km away. With the assistance of local police, a trap was laid in the forests, resulting in the seizure of over 115kg of ganja on-site. During the raid, the accused even attempted to threaten officers with a revolver, but the joint team managed to overpower and arrest them.Police also recovered two walkie-talkie sets, one revolver with two live cartridges, and five different vehicles used in the crime. The combined value of the seized items is estimated at Rs 80 lakh.Speaking about the operation, additional commissioner of police (East) Sanjay Jadhav said the success was the result of sustained efforts to reach the root of the supply chain. DCP Atul Zende added, "This network was channelling ganja from Visakhapatnam forests into Mumbai, Thane, Pune, and Solapur.

By cutting off the source, we have dealt a major blow to the racket."Over the last six months, under Thane Police's operation against anti-narcotics, the Kalyan region of Thane Police registered 60 cases, arrested more than 100 people, and seized drugs worth crores of rupees from the Kalyan-Dombivli region. This latest 1,800 km-long pursuit is seen as a milestone in dismantling one of the biggest inter-state ganja supply chains operating in Maharashtra.