Hyderabad: As part of a special drive against drugs and non-duty paid liquor (NDPL), the Telangana Prohibition and Excise department booked 159 cases across the state in the first 60 days of this year.Excise teams in Shamshabad, Meerpet and Saroornagar registered 43 of these cases, mainly involving NDPL being brought to the city by air from Goa and Delhi. Officials seized 335 litres of NDPL.Excise teams also seized 565 kg of cannabis and other drugs, including cocaine and OG Kush, from dealers during this period.Subsequently, six major cases regarding NDPL smuggling have been booked in the city in March alone.As part of the special operation, four State Task Force (STF) teams from the Enforcement Division are now working alongside district-level Task Force units. These squads have been ordered to conduct round-the-clock surveillance of railway stations, airport arrivals and key road checkpoints in order to prevent the inflow of NDPL from Goa, Delhi, Haryana and Noida, as well as narcotic substances mainly being brought in from Andhra Pradesh, Bengaluru and Goa.During the first week of the operation, STF officers seized 24 bottles of smuggled Scotch whisky from a freezer vehicle transporting blood plasma to a company in the city. Two individuals were arrested in connection with this incident.In five other cases reported this month, a total of 527 bottles of NDPL were seized after being brought in on flights, trains and vehicles from Goa and Delhi.“A special team from the excise department is always on the lookout for NDPL in the vicinity of RGI Airport. We monitor passengers arriving from Goa and Delhi. The difference in the retail price of alcohol between Haryana, Goa, and Telangana has made the smuggling of NDPL and foreign liquor a lucrative business,” said an STF official.186 NDPS cases bookedDrug traffickers have also incurred significant losses. In the first two months of the operation, excise officers booked 186 NDPS cases, arrested 391 suspects and seized 84 vehicles. They also seized 565 kg of ganja, 686 ganja plants, 286 g of OG Kush, 4.9 kg of hash oil, 11 kg of ganja chocolates, 33 g of heroin, 8.46 g of MDMA, 2 kg of opium, 1.3 kg of poppy straw, 325 g of alprazolam, and 76.7 g of cocaine.In 2025, 217 NDPS cases were filed, 415 suspects were arrested and 124 vehicles were confiscated. Excise teams seized 11 cannabis plants, 735 kg of cannabis, 236 grams of OG Kush, 633 grams of hash oil, 10 grams of charas, 39 kg of cannabis-infused chocolates, 41 grams of heroin, 52.43 grams of MDMA, 2 kg of poppy straw and 5.3 kg of alprazolam.“We have intensified our crackdown in line with the government’s directive to deliver a drug-free Telangana,” said Shahnawaz Qasim, director of enforcement at the Prohibition & Excise department.
