JEYPORE: Amid the massive crackdown on ganja cultivation and smuggling in Koraput district, the Jeypore police is now faced with a peculiar problem. There is an acute shortage of space both in court malkhana and police station premises to accommodate the seizures made under Narcotic Drugs and and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
With DGP Abhay making it clear that action against drug trafficking remains a top priority of Odisha Police, the district administration has intensified crackdown against the ganja mafia in the region. In recent months, Jeypore police has seized massive amount of the contraband in town and rural areas.
Many ganja traffickers transporting cannabis from Koraput, Machkund, Malkangiri and Chitrokonda pockets to different parts of the State and outside have been caught by either Jeypore Town or Sadar police. In the last six months, around 10 tonne of ganja and 42 vehicles used to transport the contraband have been seized with 70 smugglers arrested by police.
However, the police are now finding it difficult to get proper space to store the seized contraband. While the police stations of Jeypore Town and Sadar are already overburdened, the seized ganja is now being diverted to Barinput, Gaganapur and Ambaguda outposts for storage.
Adding to the woes, the seized vehicles are being kept in the open on the side of Jeypore-Borrigumma NH which passes near the police stations for unavailability of space.
Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of Jeypore Varun Guntupalli admitted that there is lack of space to store the contraband seized under NDPS Act. Though difficult, police are somehow managing the task, the SDPO added.