Political parties trade barbs over Vizag port drug bust

Vishakhapatnam: Even as the forensic findings on samples sent by CBI from a container seized by them at Visakhapatnam Port recently for containing suspected narcotic substances is awaited, the political parties in Andhra Pradesh are trading charges against each other over the issue taking advantage of the upcoming May 13 elections to the Assembly and Lok Sabha.

The crackdown by the Economic Offences Wing of CBI on the Visakha Container Terminal where a ship carrying containers from Santos Port of Brazil had arrived led to confiscation of 25,000 kg of yeast spiked with narcotic substances scheduled to supply to Visakhapatnam-based Sandhya Aqua Exports Ltd for preparing shrimp feed. Random tests at the lab of Customs by the CBI had led to confirmation of narcotic substances from 200 bags. It reportedly contained substances generally found in cocaine, opium and other prohibited narcotics. Top officials of CBI have undertaken a probe into the seizure under 'Operation Garuda,' aimed at cracking down on drug cartels operating in India with cross-border links.

The Opposition parties including Telugu Desam Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, and Jana Sena Party were quick to react over the seizure, made on a tip-off from Interpol to the country's premier investigation agency saying the money from trading drugs was meant for spending in the elections. Refuting the charge, the YSRCP alleged that BJP State president Daggubati Purandeswari's relatives were involved in the aqua company which imported the material from Brazil, considered a hub for international trading of narcotics. YSRCP general secretary Sajjala Ramakrishna Reddy also suspected the involvement of TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu' and his son Lokesh wondering how they could tweet immediately even though details on seizure of consignment carrying yeast mixed with drugs were known.

Reiterating Opposition charges that under the YSRCP rule, Visakhapatnam has turned into the drug capital of India, BJP State vice-president N Vishnu Kumar Raju said before the seizure of the narcotics at Visakhapatnam Port, the city had earned the dubious distinction of being a premier ganja hub for converting the Andhra-Odisha border as a cultivation field for inter-State smuggling.

Sometime ago, the police had also seized a racket wherein, a popular e-commerce platform was used to deliver ganja packed and delivered as an ayurvedic product for medical purpose.

Jana Sena corporator P Murthy Yadav alleged that after YSRCP formed the government, ganja smugglers were given a free hand. The Andhra-Odisha border has been turned into a transit point for smuggling the ganja.

In a posting on X (formerly twitter), TDP national president said, "The non-cooperation of AP Police and port employees suggests complicity and point towards the potential involvement of the ruling party. The timing of such a huge consignment of drugs finding its way into AP is questionable. What would the ruling party have done with the drugs in the upcoming elections? This confirms my fear that AP has turned into the drug capital of India over the last five years and the future of our youth is at serious risk."

Slamming both the YSRCP and the TDP, APCC president YS Sharmila sought an enquiry by a sitting Supreme Court judge into the drug smuggling mafia's nefarious activities in AP. "AP was known as the rice bowl of India earlier and now under the YSRCP rule, it has been converted into the drug capital of India," she said.