Five, including 78-year-old, held in Hyderabad with 38 kg marijuana
Hyderabad police arrested five people, including a 78-year-old man, on Friday for allegedly transporting 38 kg of dry marijuana from Araku in Visakhapatnam district to Mumbai. The arrests were made by the Hyderabad Central Crime Station (CCS) in coordination with the Gandhi Nagar police.
The accused were identified as Rajaram Swami Kannu Padaiyachi, 78, a homestay operator from Thane, Maharashtra; Santosh Balaram Prajapathi, 65, a coolie from Mumbai; Vijayalaxmi Kaliyamurti Pellai, 66, from Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu; and two domestic workers, Silmina Kujur, 36, and Sheela Devi, 48, both residents of Andheri West in Mumbai. Kujur is originally from Simdega district in Jharkhand, while Devi is from East Singhbhum district.
According to police, the five were allegedly working as carriers for an unidentified source. They are said to have collected marijuana from Araku, where it was packed in brown-coloured parcel covers. The parcels were then concealed in their travel bags, and the group travelled by bus to Hyderabad. Police said the accused would split into smaller groups and board different buses to avoid detection.
After reaching Hyderabad, they stayed for about a day at separate lodges at a pre-planned location before boarding another bus to Mumbai. On arrival, they would allegedly deliver the parcels at designated spots as instructed by the source. Police said the source took advantage of the accused persons' ages and paid them a commission of roughly ₹10,000 to ₹12,000 per delivery. The five reportedly have previous criminal histories related to marijuana transportation.
The police stated that further investigation is underway to identify the source who arranged the procurement and transportation of the contraband. In India, marijuana is regulated under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, which prohibits its sale and transport except for approved medicinal and scientific purposes.
