Tamil Nadu among 21 States targeted in postal ganja racket

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu was among 21 States where a Jharkhand-based drug syndicate allegedly supplied ganja through Speed Post, with Hyderabad police arresting the alleged kingpin who is accused of operating the racket for the past five years.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner CV Anand said the accused, Satyam Mishra, allegedly used India Post's Speed Post service to dispatch ganja parcels to distributors across Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra and several other States.

Police said the racket operated from the forested areas of Nimiaghat in Jharkhand's Giridih district. Satyam Mishra, along with his brother Shubham Mishra and associates Sachin Mishra, Rahul Jha and Santosh Pandit, allegedly cultivated ganja and shipped it through post offices at Isri Bazar in Giridih and Phusro Bazar in Bokaro district.

According to investigators, the gang packed ganja in small boxes and declared them as medicines while booking them through Speed Post. Orders were allegedly received through WhatsApp and the parcels were delivered to distributors in 21 States.

Police estimate that the syndicate earned more than Rs 20 crore over the past five years through the illegal trade.

The racket came to light after Hyderabad police detected suspicious ganja parcels sent from Isri Bazar to Gudimalkapur and from Phusro Bazar to SR Nagar. Two alleged recipients, identified as Sushant Vyas and Laddu, were arrested during the investigation.

Based on information gathered from them, a Hyderabad Special Task Force tracked the source of the parcels. After keeping surveillance near the post offices for about 20 days, the police arrested Satyam Mishra.

Police said the remaining accused are absconding and efforts are under way to trace them.