24.7 Kg Ganja Seized: Assam Gang Kingpin And Four Others Arrested In Hyderabad

The EAGLE Force has busted a major interstate drug racket in Hyderabad. After a 60-day hunt, the EAGLE Force STF team and Choutuppal police arrested Assam gang kingpin Bhaskar Hazarika and four others. Officials seized 24.7 kg ganja and 7 mobile phones from them. A case was registered at the Cyberabad Narcotics Police Station.

The hunt began after Choutuppal police chased and caught Trilochan Samantaray and Sagar Bal with 20.36 kg ganja on August 27. Their interrogation revealed Bhaskar as the kingpin. He had been absconding since then. On a tip-off that two couriers from Assam had come to deliver ganja at his house in New Hafeezpet, the EAGLE Force conducted a surprise raid and caught all five red-handed.

Bhaskar Hazarika (31), a native of Lakhimpur, Assam, came to Hyderabad in 2014 for livelihood. He worked as a security guard, later as a Swiggy/Zomato delivery boy, and again as a security guard from 2020 to 2023. From 2020, he started procuring ganja from Odisha through Pitharanjan Nayak and selling it in small quantities.

He was caught in two cases in Madhapur and one in Gachibowli in 2024. He came out on bail and changed his modus operandi. He brought his associates from Assam and built a large network. He ran a footpath hotel near IKEA to carry out the racket discreetly.

He bought ganja from Odisha suppliers Ashish Kumar Baliarsingh and Debasis Nayak alias Pinku Nayak at Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 per kg through WhatsApp orders. He divided 1 kg into 150 small packets and sold each at Rs 300. This earned him Rs 45,000 to Rs 50,000 per kg. In 10 months, he sold about 400 kg of ganja, doing business of over Rs 1.8 crore. Bank transactions showed Rs 48 lakh was transferred in 88 instalments to Ashish Kumar alone. He took payments in cash and through Axis Bank, Indian Bank and SBI online payments.