KOCHI: With the ganja harvest season on in Odisha, there has been a rise in the flow of narcotic substances to Ernakulam district over the past one month. Since the beginning of November, over 140kg of ganja has been recovered in several cases registered with the Ernakulam Rural and Kochi City police stations.
On November 11, the District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Forces of the Kochi City police intercepted five Odisha natives and recovered 57kg of ganja concealed inside their trolley bags at Kalamassery.
On November 25, two more Odisha natives were arrested with 35kg of ganja at Aluva.
In Kochi city alone, seven major ganja seizures have been reported since November 1, with the police recovering around 70.1kg of the narcotic substance.
Under the jurisdiction of the Ernakulam Rural police, as many as 10 major ganja seizures were reported during the same period and 67kg of ganja recovered.
“There has been a rise in ganja cases as it is the ganja harvest season in Odisha. The season started in November and will end this month. During the harvest period, ganja is sold by farmers at a lower price. Peddlers buy it in large quantities and attempt to smuggle the contraband to Kerala,” said a Kochi-based police officer.
Another police officer, who travelled to Odisha last month as part of an investigation, said that he saw ganja piled up at police stations there. “We saw a large heap of ganja piled up on police station premises. It was seized from farmers who cultivated it illegally. As part of our investigation, we spoke to farmers who cultivate ganja. They said they sell the ganja for a few hundred rupees per kg. When this ganja reaches Kochi, the peddlers charge `500 for 50 grams,” he said.
Due to the rise in ganja flow from Odisha to Ernakulam district, the police are closely monitoring trains and trucks arriving from West Bengal and Odisha. The police have also detected that some peddlers travel to Odisha and procure ganja in large quantities.