Email
Print
ShareThe 1,240kg of marijuana that was seized on Sunday night by the Mumbai Anti Narcotics Cell (ANC) may apparently have Naxal connection.Interrogation of Shahida Shaikh alias Simran, 34, the alleged kingpin and the lone woman among the six people who were arrested has revealed that the contraband was procured from her connections in Andhra Pradesh. Simran also told the ANC officers that she got the drug from her ex-boyfriend Shripad's contact in the narcotics trade.
Sunil Paraskar, deputy commissioner of police, ANC, said: "During interrogation, Simran revealed that the drug has come to them from the Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh and the truck, which is from Chhattisgarh, was loaded at some place on the Orissa-Andhra Pradesh border."
Warangal is one of the Naxalite infested districts of Andhra Pradesh which has seen some fierce action between Naxals and security forces in the past.A few years ago, former chief minister Chandrababu Naidu's convoy was the target of Naxal land mines in this district. However, Naidu had escaped unscathed.
Retired IPS officer and security expert Prakash Singh said, "In many areas of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa, Naxals have been promoting the tribals to cultivate poppy and weed. On many occasions, the security forces have spotted such cultivation. They were destroyed later. Tribals cultivate poppy and weed as it helps them earn a quick buck."
A senior police official said: "It has been observed after several seizures in the recent past that other than states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh, marijuana has been coming to the city from various districts of Andhra Pradesh. We will try to find out about the source of this drug and inform the authorities concerned about it in Andhra Pradesh."
