More than one quintal of ganja was seized by the Excise officials following interception of a car near Manguli Chhak about 10 kms from here early on Tuesday. Two persons, who were transporting the consignment of about 1.05 quintals of the narcotics substance valued at ` 6 lakh, were arrested.
Acting on a tip-off, a special team under DSP Natabar Behera was waiting for the suspect vehicle near the Chhak. The car bearing a West Bengal registration number was chased for some distance on the NH-5 before being cornered. The ganja was packed in gunny bags and put in the trunk. The two persons arrested from the car were identified as Manish Kumar (26) and Md Pervez (26) of Bhagalpur in Bihar.
Excise officials said they had procured the ganja from a supplier at Bindhania village under Tigiria block of Cuttack district. The two are primarily drivers taking the consignment for the designated place across the State’s borders, the DSP said.
The supplier, whose identity has been withheld, had procured the contraband from illegal production areas of Angul district and stored it in the village for pick-up by agents of the Bihar-based smugglers and peddlers.
A case under NDPS Act has been registered and the duo have been forwarded to judicial custody.
It may be mentioned here that Angul district has gained notoriety for illicit cultivation of ganja. In April, the Narcotics Control Bureau and the Excise personnel had conducted raids on several villages to unearth large tracts of hemp cultivation. Over 55 quintals of the substance worth over ` 2.5 crore was seized.
The produce is mostly transported to Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. There is a well established network between the growers and suppliers here with the smugglers of outside States, excise sources claimed.
