The crackdown on illegal trade of cannabis gathered steam when the Andhra Pradesh police destroyed a huge haul of contraband worth over Rs 500 crore at Koduru village in Visakhapatnam district under ‘Operation Parivartan’ on Saturday.
The Andhra police had seized over 2 lakh kg of ganja (dry cannabis) in the last one and a half years to two years by conducting raids at various places in the northern districts of the state.
The police had also seized 46.41 litres of hashish oil (liquid Ganja) during the same period, according to media reports.
The seized ganja was set on fire in the presence of state police chief D.Gautam Sawang and other top officials.
What is Operation Parivartan
The AP police had launched Operation Parivartan on October 31 last year to crackdown on cannabis cultivation and smuggling in the state.
Under the drive, the State police had destroyed illegal cannabis cultivation spread over 8,500 acres between November 2021 and February 2022.
Side by side, a total of 1,363 cases were registered and 1,500 people were arrested during the drive. Of those arrested, 562 were from other states, media reports said.