Bengaluru engineer among 8 arrested in cannabis trafficking case

India Dec 28, 2025

A Bengaluru software engineer was among eight people arrested for running a cannabis smuggling ring.
The group moved high-quality Sheelavathi strain cannabis from the Andhra-Odisha border to Tamil Nadu and even Sri Lanka, opening up a new route for these operations.
Gade Renuka, just 28 years old from Vizianagaram, was identified as the mastermind—she was known among associates as the "lady don."

How the operation worked—and what's next

Police caught the gang after a tip-off, seizing 74kg of cannabis, vehicles, and several mobile phones near Srugavaram village.
The team bought cannabis cheaply from Odisha's tribal areas and sent it onward through middlemen and drivers.
Now, investigators are digging deeper to see how far this network goes.