Andhra police destroy over 52 tonne ganja, 142 liters hashish oil in Visakhapatnam Range

Visakhapatnam, Feb 25 (PTI) The Andhra Pradesh Police on Wednesday destroyed over 52 tonne of seized ganja and nearly 142 liters of hashish oil in Visakhapatnam Range as part of intensified anti-narcotics operations, said a police official.

The narcotic substances were incinerated at the Coastal Waste Management Project in Parawada region of Anakapalli district.

"Andhra Pradesh Police destroyed more than 52 tonne of seized ganja along with nearly 142 litres of hashish oil in the Visakhapatnam Range as part of intensified anti-narcotics operations," Visakhapatnam Range IG Gopinath Jatti said in a release.

He said over 52,000 kilograms of ganja and nearly 142 litres of hashish oil linked to more than 780 cases in Alluri Sitharama Raju and Anakapalli districts were destroyed.

Detailing enforcement measures from June 2024 to January 2026, the IG said police registered over 970 cases, arrested about 2,400 people and seized over 55,000 kg ganja, over 56 kg hashish oil and 685 vehicles.

He said 24 inter-state gangs were identified and surveillance is being maintained on nearly 130 members as part of sustained anti-drug operations.

Under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, properties worth over Rs 9 crore belonging to 14 main accused were identified and frozen, with confirmation orders issued to curb financial networks behind narcotics trade.

Police also prepared 92 proposals under the Prevention of Illicit Traffic (PIT) NDPS Act against habitual offenders, implementing 34 detention orders and opening history sheets against nearly 1,600 people, he said.

As part of technological surveillance, 33 drones were deployed 1,360 times over 129 hotspots, leading to detection of illegal cultivation and arrests of accused, he said.

He further said that applications such as KHOJ (Knowledge Hub for Order and Justice), NIDAAN (Network for Intelligence Data Access and Analysis Network) and NATGRID (National Intelligence Grid) are being utilised to track criminal data and monitor narcotics networks.

Besides enforcement, the police facilitated rehabilitation through six de-addiction centres, counselling over 400 victims and referring nearly 240 people for treatment.

To discourage ganja cultivation, authorities distributed 1.5 crore alternative crop saplings across 29,840 acres to provide alternative livelihood support.

Youth should not sacrifice their golden future to intoxication. Every citizen must cooperate to achieve a ganja-free society, the IG added. PTI MS KH