BERHAMPUR: G.Udayagiri police in Kandhamal district apprehended nine women for allegedly transporting a large quantity of ganja on a private bus on Monday. Acting on a tip-off, a team led by IIC Ajay Swain intercepted the bus at Kalinga village and seized approximately 30 kgs of ganja concealed among their belongings.
During questioning, the women said they were new to the trade and had been paid by drug mafias to transport the ganja from Phiringia to Berhampur. However, the women were unable to provide details about the identities of the drug mafias, as they had only been instructed that the narcotics would be collected from them in Berhampur.
The police registered a case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and assigned sub-inspector Ananta Pradhan to investigate the matter. The nine suspects were forwarded to court on Monday, and their family members will be interrogated as part of the ongoing investigation, police said.
This incident comes on the heels of a series of arrests related to ganja trafficking, including the recent detention of a high school student in Rayagada who was found with over 20 kg ganja at a railway station. Additionally, Gajapati police have arrested school dropout students in similar cases.
The ganja trade has become a lucrative option for quick profits in southern districts, with official sources reporting over Rs 100 crore worth of ganja plantations and contraband seizures in Rayagada and Kandhamal districts in the last six months alone.