Hanumakonda: Police recently arrested seven individuals from two gangs for selling expired pesticides and fake seeds using well-known company names, deceiving farmers. The arrests were made on Friday by the task force and Parkal and Geesugonda police.
The police seized expired and counterfeit pesticides worth about ₹63.62 lakh, along with 166 kg of fake seeds, 800 liters of herbicide, materials for making fake pesticides, and seven mobile phones.
The individuals arrested include Jayadeep Gowtham (33) from Medchal-Malkajgiri, Muddangula Aditya (32) from Mehdipatnam, Machaboyina Tirupati (35) from Nagaram village, Annam Kumaraswamy (42) from Papayyapalli-Chelpur village, Beri Reddy Marri Reddy (42) from Elkathurthy Haveli, and Tummagundla Sandeep Reddy (37) and Tummagundla Vijay Joseph (36) from Sangareddy district.
Commissioner of Police Sanjeev Singh shared details at a press conference. He explained that based on reliable information, the task force and Parkal police, with agriculture department officials, raided Tirupati's house in Nagaram, uncovering fake and expired pesticides. Tirupati’s interrogation led them to a Mehdipatnam warehouse, where they found fake pesticides valued at ₹57.44 lakh. Jayadeep Gowtham, Aditya, and Kumaraswamy were arrested at this site.
In another operation, Geesugonda police, acting on a tip, raided Marri Reddy's house in Elkathurthy Haveli, seizing one kg of fake seeds. Further investigation led to Sandeep Reddy and Vijay Joseph's homes in Chintalachervu village, recovering 166 kg of counterfeit seeds and 800 liters of herbicide worth ₹6.18 lakh.
Singh praised the efforts of Task Force ACP Madhusudhan, Parkal ACP Satish Babu, inspectors Babulal, Sarlraju, Ranjith, Kranthi Kumar, agricultural officer Salman Pasha, and various SI teams and police personnel involved in the operation.
