Tirupur, Nov. 27
In a major operation, Forest Department personnel of the Annamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) have found more than 1000 seedlings of marijuana inside the reserve forest on Sunday.
According to District Forest Officer Mohammed Shabad, the plantation was identified at Mel Kurumalai in the Udumalpet Range.
He further added that the team comprising 100 members had to travel more than ten hours distance by foot and vehicle to reach the plantation. “We camped secretly on Thursday night and Friday and then carried out the operation,” he said.
1000 marijuana plants of different ages were found and destroyed by the team.
The team has also secured a few suspects and details of the same have not been released because of ongoing investigation.
According to sources, some people indulge in planting marijuana in moist river sheds inside the reserve during August and September, and harvest happens around January.
Field staff of ATR are on patrol for most of the time to identify such plantations.