Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a spike in smuggling cases in southern India's Andhra Pradesh on June 8. The incident took place in Lankelapalem village in Parawada Mandal in Visakhapatnam district.

Visuals feature the officials recovering and seizing several sacks loaded with cannabis in broad daylight from a lorry. Following this, they stack and assemble all the illicit goods and confiscate the truck after apprehending the smugglers. Meanwhile, the cops disclose the entire matter to the public in a press conference to keep them aware.

Acting on a tip-off, a team consisting of City Special Branch, City Task Force, and the Parawada police intercepted a lorry at Lankelapalem and recovered 3000 kg (6613 lbs) of marijuana worth Rs. 1.5 crore (USD 2,05,624), ingeniously hidden inside a shelf at the back of the truck. They further apprehended the two accused, identified as Mohammad Laq and Thaqeeb Alam, and seized their cellphones along with other items.

During further investigation, it was revealed that their handler in Uttar Pradesh promised to give a driving job to Mohammad and took the identification cards from both the accused and booked a flight to Vizag for them. On May 30, both the miscreants left Didauli in Uttar Pradesh and proceeded to Delhi by car. There they boarded their flight and reached Visakhapatnam as per their plan.

They took shelter at a lorry yard near the airport for a week, following which they took possession of the truck from an unidentified person. Then they went to Minumuluru village in Paderu with the help of a local guide and loaded the cannabis inside the secret shelf of the lorry. However, they were ambushed by the officials on the way to Uttar Pradesh and were arrested for smuggling the goods.