The mother of a load driver in Chennai got her son arrested for substance abuse, helping cops bust a ganja (cannabis) smuggling racket, officials said.
Sriram, a load vehicle driver, had recently picked up the habit of using ganja oil. When his mother Bagyalaskhmi became aware of this, she alerted MKB Nagar Police on Wednesday.
Upon reaching Sriram's house, cops recovered 630 ml of ganja oil worth Rs 2 lakh.
The team then brought Sriram to the police station for questioning. He revealed that while returning from a cargo trip from Odisha, he brought 300 ml of ganja oil from Andhra Pradesh.
This was part of a contact given by one Arun from Kerala, said Sriram, adding that he handed over the item to an unknown man at a roundabout in Madhavaram area in Chennai.
The police then tracked the accomplice to Vyasarpadi, and identified the person as Satish, brother of Arun, who were reportedly called as 'Ganja Brothers'.
The duo used Sriram and Pervez, another load vehicle driver, to smuggle ganja from other states. They recently introduced cannabis oil, claiming it was easier to smuggle as it was difficult for sniffer dogs to identify.
The racket came to light after Sriram used a bit of the 630 ml ganja oil which was to be handed over to a local peddler as per Arun’s directions.
But as Sriram’s mother saw her son's behaviour change after consuming the oil, she alerted the cops, helping them with busting the racket.
Further investigations into the matter are underway.
