BHUBANESWAR: The Special Task Force (STF) of the Crime Branch arrested an absconding drug peddler from the capital city here on Wednesday. The accused, Sarat Kumar Dey of West Bengal’s Purba Bardhaman district, was wanted in connection with the seizure of 4,335 kg ganja in Gajapati district on August 20.
Dey and one of his associates Pramod Kumar Tandi were reportedly transporting the contraband in a truck having a fake registration number. They abandoned the vehicle and fled on noticing the police patrolling in the area.
The truck and the contraband were seized from the spot. Mohana police in Gajapati had registered a case under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act but STF later took over the investigation as the accused had inter-state links.
During the investigation, it was found the contraband was procured from near Mohana and was being transported in a truck registered in West Bengal. The accused had reportedly fixed a fake registration with having Odisha number on the vehicle to hoodwink the police.
Dey was earlier booked in five cases including two under the NDPS Act by different police stations and had once managed to escape from police custody too.