Visakhapatnam: City Police denies interference in drug seizure case

Visakhapatnam : Amidst the barbs between the political parties, City Police Commissioner A Ravi Shankar denied that there has been any pressure from the state government in the investigation of the narcotic drug case detected on Thursday. Speaking to the media on Friday, Shankar mentioned that the entire case was being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the city police went there after receiving a request from the Customs SP. Explaining further, the CP stated that the police had left the spot because there was no need for a dog squad as technical evidence had to be collected for a confirmatory test carried out by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory.

The CBI authorities mentioned in the FIR that the investigation was delayed due to involvement of the AP government and company representatives. However, the CP clarified it as technical terminology. He informed that while taking a videography, a disruption was caused in the process and the CBI mentioned the same in the FIR as it was part of the technical procedure.

He said, "The container terminal is not even within the Police Commissionerate’s jurisdiction. We went there because the Customs SP had called for a dog squad to identify the drugs."

Visakhapatnam is a transit centre for peddlers as they have transport facilities to travel anywhere in the country from Vizag. With strict vigilance of the police, the CP clarified that the consumption of drugs in Andhra Pradesh is almost negligible.

‘Operation Garuda’

Meanwhile, the CBI said that as a part of ‘Operation Garuda’ and its fight against organised drug cartels on an international level based on information through Interpol and with the assistance of the Customs Department in Visakhapatnam, it had detained a shipping container at the Visakhapatnam Port.

The CBI said the container had been booked from “Santos Port, Brazil” for delivery in Visakhapatnam in the name of a consignee by name Sandhya Aqua, a Visakhapatnam-based private company. The shipper had declared that the aforesaid container contains 1,000 bags of ‘inactive dried yeast’ of 25 kg each.

“However, on preliminary examination through the narcotics substances detection mechanisms, it appears that the material shipped contains narcotic drugs mixed with inactive dried yeast,” the CBI officials said, adding that the whole consignment had been seized and an FIR registered against the consignee and unknown others.

The operation indicates the involvement of international criminal network engaged in importing narcotics drugs by way of mixing it with other substance, commonly known as cutting agents, the CBI said.