The police said the four have been booked. The Pune City Police’s Crime Branch has seized 1.9 kg of charas, worth over Rs 11 lakh, which was allegedly being smuggled from Manali for sale in Pune. Police have arrested one person and have recovered contraband hidden in the door of the car in which he had driven down from Himachal Pradesh.
A team from the Anti Extortion Cell of Pune City Police’s Crime Branch received a tip-off about a suspect who was coming to Pune and was in possession of a large quantity of charas. Based on the inputs received, a trap was laid at Khadki on the Pune-Mumbai Highway. Around 4 pm on Tuesday, the police team intercepted a car with a Manali registration number. Police detained the driver of the car, Virendra Sharma (40), a resident of Manali.
In presence of independent witnesses, the car was searched by Crime Branch sleuths and a polythene bag containing a black substance, which was hidden in the rear door of the XUV, was recovered. Preliminary examination revealed that the substance was charas or hashish weighing 1.9 kg, worth Rs 11.4 lakh. Sharma was subsequently placed under arrest.
Officials have launched a probe into the source of the contraband and a team will soon be sent to Himachal Pradesh to conduct an investigation. Initial findings by the police suggest that the consignment was to be handed over to a buyer in Kondhwa area.
