Mangaluru : The City Crime Branch (CCB) on Thursday arrested seven persons and seized over 44 kg of ganja being transported into the city worth around ₹ 9.75 lakh from them.

Police Commissioner N. Shashi Kumar told reporters here on Friday that the CCB conducted a raid in Ullal and Konaje police limits based on a tip-off that huge quantity of ganja was being transported into the city from Telangana through Bidar. The raid resulted in the arrest of five persons initially and confiscation of about 40 kg ganja. Subsequent investigation led to the arrest of two more persons and recovery of 4.63 kg of ganja.

Police Commissioner gave the names of the first five arrested as Azeez alias Abdul Azeez alias Poker Azeez (44), Mohiddin Hafiz alias Abhi (34), both residents of Naringana in Bantwal taluk, Vittal Chawan (350, Sakru Naik Tanda, Sangareddy district in Telangana, Sanjeev Kumar Chawan (34), Sevanagar Tanda, Bhalki, Bidar district, and Kallappa (40), Dande Kosam village, Bhalki, Bidar. Two cars with Maharashtra registration plate, 40 kg ganja and seven mobile phones were seized from them.

Subsequently, the Ullal Police arrested Mohammed Hafiz alias Appi (23), resident of Naringana, and Sandeep, Gurunagar, Gurupura, and recovered 4.63 ganja from them. The seized items were worth ₹ 23 lakh, he added.

Azeez was facing three ganja peddling cases in Konaje Police limits and one each in Kavoor and Ullal police limits. Mohiddin Hafiz was facing six cases in all, three in Konaje, one each in Surathkal, Ullal and Kankanady Town police limits. He was also previously convicted in one case in Konaje Police limits. While Sanjeev Kumar Chawan and Kallappa were facing ganja peddling cases in Andhra Pradesh, Vittal Chawan was facing a murder case in Andhra Pradesh, the commissioner said.

The Commissioner  said that the accused had planned to sell ganja in retail in Mangaluru and Kasargod of Kerala through local peddlers. The police will take up an in-depth probe to unearth the racket.

Deputy Commissioners of Police Hariram Shankar and Vinay Gaonkar supervised the raids conducted by teams led by Assistant Commissioner of Police (South) Ranjith Kumar Bandaru and comprising CCB Police Inspector Mahesh Prasad, Konaje Police Inspector Prakash Devadiga, Ullal Police Inspector Sandeep and CCB Sub-Inspectors of Police B. Rajendra and T.R. Pradeep and others.