Pot emergency: Indian smugglers pose as ambulance crew & patient to transport 40kg of weed

Indian traffic police busted a drug smuggling ring after they stopped an ambulance with a suspicious license plate only to find a large haul of cannabis inside. The fake medical workers and a “patient” were arrested.

Police in Kodagaon, a municipality in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, were in for a big surprise when they pulled over an ambulance on Monday for an all but routine inspection.

The officers decided to check the vehicle after they grew suspicious of its license plate – issued in the state of Haryana in the northern part of the country.

At first sight, nothing seemed to be out of place, as there was a crew – two attendants, a driver, and a patient – inside. However, upon closer inspection, police found more than they bargained for, seizing tightly wrapped packages filled with cannabis with a street value of about $2,800 (Rs 2 Lakh).

“During the checking, we found two attendants, driver and a fake patient inside the ambulance. The whole [stunt] in the ambulance was done to pretend that it is a case of an emergency. Based on suspicion, we carried out a raid and found 40 kg cannabis hidden inside the vehicle,” Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) Kapil Chandra told ANI.

The smugglers apparently used an ambulance to carry out their shady business in hopes that police would be reluctant to stop them, and their calculation almost paid off.

“In case of high emergency, we have to allow the ambulance to move but we try our best to investigate all suspected vehicles,” the official noted.

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