Ganja smuggling racket with international links busted in Anakapalli; 213 kg seized, five held

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.

First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.

Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.

Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers

Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there

The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.

Anakapalli Superintendent of Police Tuhin Sinha with the five men arrested in the ganja seizure case, and the 213 kg of contraband, at a press conference in Anakapalli on Wednesday. X/@AKPPolice | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The Anakapalli district police arrested five persons, including an alleged drug smuggler said to have links to Sri Lanka, and seized 213 kg of ganja, the police said.

The arrested were Shaikh Ajmal Khan, 30, of Ramanathapuram district in Tamil Nadu; Shaikh Abdul Rahman of Narsipatnam, brother of Ajmal Khan; T. Durga Prasad of Narsipatnam; K. Lova Prasad; and Ch. Ravi Kumar of Pedabayalu.

*అంతర్జాతీయ డ్రగ్స్ స్మగ్లర్ ముఠా గుట్టురట్టు: రూ. 1.06 కోట్ల విలువైన 213.360 కేజీల గంజాయి స్వాధీనం – ఐదుగురు నిందితుల అరెస్ట్* *పరవాడ పోలీస్ సిబ్బంది చాకచక్యం: ప్రత్యేకంగా అభినందించి, ప్రశంసా పత్రాలు, నగదు పురస్కారాలు అందజేసిన జిల్లా ఎస్పీ శ్రీ తుహిన్ సిన్హా, ఐపీఎస్.*… pic.twitter.com/cyVBPQafMd

Addressing a press conference at the district police headquarters on Wednesday (June 17, 2026), Superintendent of Police Tuhin Sinha said a special team of the Parawada police, acting on credible information about ganja smuggling, conducted vehicle checks at Lankelapalem Junction on June 16 and intercepted a gang transporting 213 kg of ganja in a car. The police also seized about ₹95,000 in cash.

During the investigation, the police found that the prime accused, Shaikh Ajmal Khan, had a criminal background linked to narcotics trafficking in Sri Lanka, the SP said.

Mr. Sinha said Ajmal Khan had relatives in Narsipatnam and had been arrested by the Sri Lankan Narcotics Bureau in April 2022 in a case involving the seizure of 495 grams of methamphetamine and 8.5 kg of hashish oil. He was lodged in a prison in Colombo and later shifted to the high-security Boossa prison in Galle.

“While serving his sentence, Ajmal Khan established contacts with organised criminal networks involved in international narcotics trafficking,” the SP said.

After being released on bail in October 2