The Superintendent of Police for Prakasam district, AR Damodar, announced that the Podili police have successfully arrested a gang of five individuals involved in ganja smuggling, peddling, and gold chain thefts across multiple districts in Andhra Pradesh. The authorities recovered ganja and gold ornaments worth Rs 23 lakh from the accused.
The SP shared that a special surveillance programme targeting ganja trafficking was initiated, with local Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs) overseeing the operation. Acting on a tip-off, Podili Circle Inspector (CI) T. Venkateswarlu and Podili Sub-Inspector (SI) V. Vemana, along with their team, apprehended five suspects at vacant plots behind the BSNL Building in Podili on Sunday. The arrested individuals were identified as Mahedi Hussain from Naupada, Odisha, Shaik Kruparao from Ongole, Vadisana Venugopal Reddy from Tallur mandal, Shaik Tarun from Chimakurthy, and Avula Brahmaiah from Yerragondapalem. The police seized 1.350 kg of ganja and Rs 6,700 from the suspects.
Mahedi Hussain confessed that he purchased ganja from Visakhapatnam at the behest of his partner, Ravipati Jagadeesh, and delivered it to him in Ongole for distribution. Hussain was caught while distributing the ganja with the other four suspects.
Kruparao, one of the arrested individuals, was found to be a habitual offender, involved in gold chain snatching. He had eight pending cases across various police stations and had been involved in 23 such incidents since 2009. Police also discovered that Vadisana Venugopal was connected to 15 theft cases in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, while Shaik Tarun acted as an accomplice in two of those cases.
In total, the police recovered 1,350 grams of ganja, 303 grams of gold, a motorcycle, and Rs 6,700, with a combined value of Rs 23,18,900 from the five accused. Superintendent Damodar awarded certificates of appreciation and announced rewards for the officers involved in the operation, including Darsi DSP B. Laxminarayana, Podili CI T. Venkateswarlu, Podili SI V. Vemana, and other key personnel who contributed to the successful bust.