Pune Rural Police Bust Inter-State Ganja Racket, Seize 634 Kg Narcotics Worth Rs 3 Crore
Pune, 22nd May 2026: The Pune Rural Police have busted an inter-state cannabis trafficking racket and arrested seven accused, while seizing 634 kg of ganja and other material collectively worth around Rs 3 crore, officials said on Thursday.
The operation was jointly carried out by the Local Crime Branch and Pune Rural Police in connection with a case registered earlier this year at Baramati City Police Station under the NDPS Act.
Police said the investigation began after 478.95 kg of ganja valued at Rs 2.39 crore was recovered from two plastic drums concealed on farmland near Jalochi-Pimpali Road in Baramati on February 28. The contraband had allegedly been stored for sale by unidentified persons.
Following the seizure, Pune Rural superintendent of police Sandeep Singh Gill formed special teams from the Local Crime Branch and Baramati city police to trace those involved in the supply chain and identify the source of the narcotics.
During the probe, police received information that the contraband had been procured and stored by accused Samadhan Dharmaraj Gaikwad and Vicky alias Pappu Kamble along with their associates. Based on technical analysis and intelligence inputs, police arrested four accused from the Tandulwadi area of Baramati on May 3.
The arrested accused were identified as Prakash alias Pakya Mohan Kate (29), Samadhan Gaikwad (23), Princekumar Munna Singh (22), a resident of Bihar, and Rahul Kalyan Gore (27) from Beed district.
During interrogation, the accused allegedly revealed the names of three other associates — Vicky alias Pappu Kamble, Sangram alias Chandan Singh and Jockey Majhi — who were allegedly involved in transporting ganja from Chhattisgarh.
Police later received information that the suspects were returning to Baramati in two Toyota Innova vehicles via the Pandharpur-Phaltan route. Separate police teams chased the vehicles on May 20.
One of the vehicles was intercepted near Tasgaon with the assistance of the Sangli Local Crime Branch. Police detained Vicky alias Pappu Vijay Kamble (32) and recovered 134 kg of ganja worth Rs 33.55 lakh from the vehicle.
In a parallel operation on May 21, another team intercepted a second Innova near Gaware Chowk on Phaltan Road in Baramati and seized 23 kg of ganja valued at Rs 11.55 lakh. Three persons — Hussain Sukhdev Lashkare (35), Aditya Vikas Shinde (20) and Yuvraj Dnyaneshwar Durge — were arrested in the case.
According to police, the racket was involved in procuring ganja from Chhattisgarh and supplying it illegally to dealers in Solapur, Sangli and Satara districts of western Maharashtra.
Police said a total of 634 kg of ganja, two four-wheelers and other material collectively worth Rs 3.03 crore were seized during the operation. Further investigation is underway.
