Ganja milkshake racket busted in Hyderabad, accused arrested: 'hardly contains any THC'

Police in Hyderabad busted a ganja milkshake racket (Representational image)

Police have busted a ganja milkshake racket in Hyderabad. The new form of marijuana consumption was discovered when cops raided a local store, Jayasri Traders, and found 4 kg ganja powder and 160 packets of ganja chocolates.

The main accused, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, was arrested, reported The New Indian Express. Manoj was selling ganja to customers with the help of his sons, Murari Kumar Agarwal and Nitish Kumar Agarwal. Their illegal trade was discovered during a raid on April 15. The accused were apparently influenced by the activities of a relative who sold ganja-infused chocolates in West Bengal.

When ganja is transported for distribution, some of it gets broken and forms a powder. This powder is known as “choora” and is typically sold at a lower price. The trio joined hands with a manufacturer in Indore to turn the choora into milkshake powder, with which they targeted the lower-income segment.

However, the ganja milkshake powder was mostly for show, as it did not have a high concentration of THC. The consumer, therefore, would barely get ‘high.’

“A cannabis plant grows approximately 5 to 7 feet tall and most of the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), — the primary psychoactive constituent of ganja — is mostly concentrated at one foot of its length from the top,” a senior police officer explained.

“While the buds, present at the top, are sold at higher prices, the rest of the plant, from which the powder is generally formed or derived, hardly contains any THC, rendering the high experienced by consumers as relatively mild. So, it has to be understood by the consumers that the sale of choora is only a money-making trick and does not provide any real cloud-nine feeling. One must stay away from consuming ganja,” the officer said.

The raid at Manoj Kumar Agarwal’s shop uncovered ganja powder being sold for Rs 2,500 per kg, while ganja-infused chocolates were sold at Rs 40 per piece. While Manoj Kumar Agarwal was arrested, his supplier Mohan is absconding, police said.