PHULBANI/BERHAMPUR : Kandhamal police on Wednesday arrested a key absconding member of an inter-state ganja trafficking syndicate from Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh in connection with a narcotics case linked to drug mafia Dillip Kumar Gouda.
SP Ramendra Prasad said the accused, Rupesh Kumar Pradhan (26) of Khajurinala village under Balliguda police limits in Kandhamal, was handling the syndicate’s financial and logistical operations. Bank accounts and vehicles were procured in his name but were allegedly operated by the kingpin to transport commercial quantities of ganja and channel proceeds from the illegal trade.
The arrest is linked to a case registered in Balliguda police station under the NDPS Act after Dillip was reportedly caught transporting 91 kg of ganja in an MUV on June 4. During investigation, police uncovered an organised inter-state smuggling network that reportedly transported ganja from Kandhamal to Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Gujarat using modified heavy vehicles.
With Rupesh’s arrest, the total number of accused apprehended in the case has risen to nine. Of the nine accused arrested so far including Dillip, six were apprehended in Odisha, while the remaining three were arrested from Rajasthan, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh through coordinated operations across multiple states.
Assets worth nearly Rs 4 crore have been seized or frozen under provisions of the NDPS Act. These include around Rs 16 lakh in bank accounts, land and real estate worth approximately Rs 2 crore, a fleet of commercial and luxury vehicles allegedly used for drug trafficking, and gold jewellery valued at around Rs 30 lakh.
Police said several of the arrested accused have criminal antecedents and are wanted in multiple NDPS and organised crime cases registered in states including Gujarat and Chhattisgarh.
The SP said further investigation is underway and more details about the accused’s criminal history and inter-state links will be shared as the probe progresses.