Andhra Pradesh EAGLE Cracks Down on Ganja Smugglers, Seizes Properties Worth Crores
The Elite Anti-Narcotics Group for Law Enforcement (EAGLE) has intensified its financial probe into ganja smugglers in Andhra Pradesh, identifying and targeting properties of smugglers and their close relatives. Over a dozen smugglers have been identified, and officials plan to coordinate with authorities in other states to trace and seize inter-state assets.
The “Sheelavathi” variety of cannabis, cultivated along the Andhra-Odisha border (AOB), has a thriving market across India, reaching cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. Rising demand has helped smugglers from Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu earn substantial illegal profits.
EAGLE officers, trained in financial investigations under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, are empowered to freeze, seize, and forfeit assets linked to illegal drug trafficking. Senior IPS officer and EAGLE chief Ake Ravi Krishna said, “Our teams are finalizing investigations in 12 cases where smugglers have amassed illegal assets. Some properties were held in benami names and through relatives. Bank accounts and movable and immovable properties will soon be frozen, with confiscation confirmed by competent authorities under the NDPS Act.”
In recent operations, officials in Alluri Sitarama Raju (ASR) district seized properties worth over Rs 17 lakh belonging to Perumal Srinu, funded through cannabis smuggling across ASR, Vizianagaram, Odisha, and Telangana. The assets were registered under relatives’ names to conceal their illicit origin.
Similarly, Vizianagaram officials confiscated properties worth over Rs 48 lakh from Pati Khila alias Guru (32) of Basuput in Koraput, Odisha, linked to multiple cannabis smuggling cases in Andhra Pradesh. Once confiscation orders are issued, the government can auction the seized properties.
Officials emphasized that properties are frozen during investigations and attached post-conviction. “We are coordinating with banks, revenue departments, prosecutors, and other sources to ensure proper confiscation of illegal assets linked to accused ganja smugglers,” they added.