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Sunday October 3, 4:47 PM
Drive against cannabis in isolated Himachal valley By Indo-Asian News Service
Shimla, Oct 3 (IANS) A day after two Austrians were arrested for possessing marijuana, rain hampered an operation Sunday to destroy cannabis plants in the scenic Kullu valley of Himachal Pradesh.
The two Austrian brothers -- Florian and Daniel Hoffer -- in their early twenties were arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act from a secluded house with two kilograms of cannabis and some incriminating documents.
"We stumbled upon information about these two Austrians suspected of being cannabis smugglers during our cannabis destruction drive in the Malana region," said Kullu police chief Anand Pratap Singh.
The Kullu valley is notorious for cannabis and the contraband found in the isolated region of Malana region, some 10,000 ft above sea level, reportedly fetches the highest price in the international market.
"Florian and Daniel Hoffer were arrested from a house in a remote region. House owner Chande Ram is missing," Singh said.
"We have seized fake passports and visas from the house," Singh said.
Florian had recently married an Indian girl Anju Sharma.
"I renewed my visa in Kathmandu recently. I married Anju some days ago, the marriage has been registered," Florian Hoffer told IANS.
The two brothers are in police custody in Manali and will be produced in a court this week.
Foreigners in search of cannabis often visit the valley and overstay, some even marrying locals.
According to police, there are at least 24 such marriages registered in Kullu, a town some 240 km from here.
"So far we have destroyed cannabis growing on a large area in the last four days in the Malana mountains of Kullu valley," said Kullu police chief Anand Pratap Singh.
"Over 100 Nepalese nationals engaged in the cannabis cultivation in the valley have fled the region as teams of policemen continued with their operation of destroying cannabis plants," said the police chief.
"The destruction drive will continue in the Malana and Rason region in the coming days," he said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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