Hyderabad: The EAGLE Team (Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement), on Wednesday seized 935.611 kilograms of ganja and busted a well-organized smuggling syndicate operating between Odisha and Maharashtra via Andhra Pradesh. On 26.07.2025, the EAGLE unit at RNCC Khammam&Rachakonda Narcotic Police Station received a specific input regarding transportation of bulk ganja. 

The smuggling convoy was expected to pass through Batasingaram fruit market on the Vijayawada National Highway. A response team led by RNCC Khammam&Rachakonda Narcotic Police Station deployed surveillance units and technical teams and intercepted the target vehicles. Upon inspection, 35 HDPE bags containing 455 packets of ganja were found hidden in the Tata Eicher vehicle. 

The arrested accused confessed that the operation was orchestrated by Pawar Kumar Badu,a repeated offender in coordination with Sachin Gangaram Chouhan (absconding) and Vicky Seth (Odisha-based supplier). As per the police, the trio of accused – Pawar Kumar, hired driver Samadhan Kantilal Bhise, and logistic assistant Vinayak Baba Saheb Pawar travelled from Maharashtra to Rajahmundry on 23.07.2025 in a rented Innova car. There, they met Sachin, who loaded the ganja consignment into the Tata Eicher truck. The convoy set off towards Maharashtra with the Innova escorting the DCM truck to evade checks. 

The ganja was concealed under fruit trays, and the syndicate operated on a credit-based model, financing local suppliers and buyers, maintaining accounts, and ensuring steady distribution channels. The seizures also included the vehicles and 6 Mobile Phones with dual IMEIs. A case has been registered under the Section 8(c),Section 20(b)(ii)(C),Section 27A,Section 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.