One of them was arrested for smuggling ganja by the Khammam Regional Narcotics Control Center (RNCC) of the Elite Action Group on Drug Enforcement (EAGLE) on Monday (March 2).
The accused Surendra Khemudu alias Debdas Kilo alias Surendar alias Vivek, 36, a laborer from Rasabeda village in Odisha’s Malkangiri district, was nabbed after absconding for several months. He was subsequently handed over to the Manuguru Police for further legal proceedings.
According to officials, Surendra studied up to Class IV before he started working as a daily wage worker and allegedly got involved in ganja smuggling. Police said he procured the consignments from Odisha and delivered them in Telangana. His name came up during the investigation of several earlier seizures.
He was linked to eight cases registered between 2016 and 2025 at police stations including Bhadrachalam town, Thukaram Gate in Hyderabad, Chitrakonda in Odisha, Paloncha Town, NTPS Ramagundam, Laxmidevipalli and Manuguru. The quantities involved in these cases ranged from 10 kg to 150 kg of ganja.
Officials said his arrest is expected to provide more clues into cross-border trafficking networks between Odisha and Telangana. Further investigation is underway.
The EAGLE unit has urged citizens to report information related to the sale, consumption or trafficking of drugs through the toll-free number 1908, WhatsApp on 87126 71111 or by email at tsnabho-hyd@tspolice.gov.in. The identities of the whistleblowers will be withheld, officials said.
Published – 02 March 2026 20:02 IST
