BHUBANESWAR: The Special Task Force (STF) of Crime Branch on Friday arrested an Uttar Pradesh native on charges of smuggling ganja near Pitapalli under Info Valley police limits and seized 497 kg of the contraband worth `2.5 crore from him.
The accused is Raju of UP’s Aligarh district and was en route to New Delhi. Acting on a tip-off, the STF intercepted a truck bearing UP registration number and recovered the ganja, which was stashed beneath bags of rice to avoid suspicion.
Preliminary investigation revealed the seized ganja was procured from Gajapati district. The accused loaded the contraband from Berhampur and was en route to New Delhi to deliver it.
“Further investigation is underway to identify the suppliers, intended recipients and other members of the trafficking syndicate,” said STF officers. As part of the investigation, STF teams will visit UP and New Delhi to collect further evidence, identify and apprehend other members of the syndicate, trace the financial trail and dismantle the entire network.