3 LTR OF HASHISH OIL WORTH `15 LAKH SEIZED

The Special Operations Team of LB Nagar along with the Abdullapurmet police seized three liters of hashish oil from two men along with a transport vehicle on Thursday. The total worth of seized items was estimated to be `15 lakh, said the police.

The peddlers were identified as Thota Santhosh Kumar, 36, and Pawde Veerabhadra, 28, both residents of KPHB, said the police, adding that their associate Raju, the supplier, was reportedly absconding.

“Santhosh Kumar has been a fruits and vegetables vendor for about six years and Veerabhadra has been working with him in the same business. During his trips to the outskirts to transport vegetables, Santosh got acquainted with Raju, a resident of Narsipatnam area. Subsequently, Raju suggested him to peddle drugs on commission basis, to which Santosh agreed as his earnings were not enough to run the household,” said the police.

The two had earlier transported drugs from Visakhapatnam agency area to Hyderabad and sold it to customers in the surrounding area of Hyderabad city. After police started cracking down on marijuana, they shifted to hashish oil and the demand gave them good profit.

“They purchase the oil for ` 90,000 per litre and sell it for `4 lakh per litre, or `4,000 per 10 ML. On Thursday, they were returning back to the city with the contraband when the officials caught them near ORR and seized three litres of hashish oil from their possession,” added the police.