Four held with 600kg spurious cotton seeds

Hyderabad: The Special Operations Team (SOT) LB Nagar Zone team, along with Hayathnagar police, busted an interstate fake cotton seeds racket and arrested four persons involved in transporting the banned BT-3 cotton seeds into Telangana. Police seized nearly 600 kg of spurious cotton seeds, two vehicles and four mobile phones during the operation.

The arrested persons were identified as C Raja Ram, 42, G Swamy Dasu, 48, A Malleshwariah, 28 and K Chinna Obulesu, 45, all residents of Nandyal district in Andhra Pradesh.

According to the police, the accused were caught near Peddamberpet while allegedly transporting the fake seeds for illegal sale to farmers in Telangana.

Officials said the seeds were falsely promoted as “high- yield BT-3 cotton seeds” to mislead farmers and earn illegal profits.

During the raid, police intercepted two cars carrying 10 gunny bags filled with loose cotton seeds. The accused persons reportedly failed to provide valid licences, invoices, or transport permits for the seeds. Investigation revealed one of the accused, G Swamy Dasu, had previously been involved in a similar fake seeds case.

Police are continuing efforts to trace the absconding accused R Mohan Reddy (40), who is suspected to be a part of a larger network. Further investigation is underway.

Police warned that the use of spurious seeds can lead to poor germination, crop failure, and major financial losses for farmers. Malkajgiri Police said that they are actively cracking down on the fake seeds trade, which is causing heavy losses to innocent farmers.