400 kg ganja seized near Hyderabad ORR; seven interstate peddlers held
HYDERABAD: The Special Operations Team (SOT), Kukatpally Zone, along with Patancheru police, arrested seven alleged interstate drug peddlers and seized 400 kg of dry ganja near Muthangi on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) on Sunday. Police said the seized contraband, along with vehicles and mobile phones, was valued at around ₹2 crore.
The case was registered as Crime No. 697/2026 under Sections 8(c) read with 20(b)(ii)(C) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at Patancheru police station.
Police said the accused were transporting the ganja from Odisha to Maharashtra in a DCM vehicle covered with empty vegetable plastic trays. An Ertiga car was allegedly being used as an escort vehicle.
Receiver and supplier remain absconding
Police identified the absconding accused as Manisha Padwal of Solapur, Maharashtra, and a man identified as Tribune from Odisha, who was allegedly supplying the contraband from Malkangiri district.
The arrested accused were identified as Pratap Haridas Pawar, 24, Anand Mayappa Howal, 34, Balaji Ganesh Honmani, 35, Rohith Howal, 27, Chandan Shipve Audumbar, 46, a 17-year-old juvenile, and Ranjeet Rajender Gadage alias Govind, 27. All are residents of Solapur district in Maharashtra.
According to police, Manisha Padwal allegedly contacted Pratap Pawar to arrange transportation of ganja from Odisha to Maharashtra. Pawar then allegedly coordinated with the Odisha-based supplier and arranged transportation through Anand Howal, owner of the DCM vehicle.
Contraband concealed under vegetable trays
Police said the accused travelled to Odisha on May 8, 2026, loaded 400 kg of dry ganja into the DCM vehicle and began the journey towards Maharashtra through Hyderabad.
Acting on specific information, SOT and Patancheru police intercepted the vehicles near Muthangi at around 10.00 IST on May 11 and apprehended the accused.
Police seized 400 kg of dry ganja, one Eicher DCM vehicle bearing registration number MH11DD6268, one Ertiga car bearing registration number MH13ES6117, and six mobile phones.
The operation was carried out under the supervision of P Shoban Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police, SOT, Cyberabad, and A Vishwa Prasad, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, SOT. The team included G Vinayak Reddy, SHO, Patancheru police station, B Raju, detective inspector, Patancheru, and Shiva Kumar, inspector, SOT Kukatpally.
Cyberabad police urged the public to share information related to drug suppliers through Dial 100, the Cyberabad NDPS Enforcement Cell helpline 7901105423, or WhatsApp number 8712663333. Police said the identity of informants would be kept confidential.
