JEYPORE: A Police team from Rajasthan has launched an investigation in Jeypore to trace ganja smugglers engaged in illegal transportation of the contraband from interior pockets of Koraput district.
The four-member team reached here on Thursday to nab four ganja smugglers belonging to Koraput district.
Recently, Rajasthan Police had busted an inter-State ganja smuggling racket and arrested four of its members.
One of them belongs to Koraput and four more from the district are involved in smuggling the contraband to different parts of Rajasthan.
A few weeks back, a team of Haryana Police had come to the district to find out links of illegal ganja trade.
The tribal-dominated district continues to remain a hub of ganja cultivation and smuggling despite police taking several measures to curb it. Ganja smugglers procure the contraband from Jalaput and Machkund in Koraput district and Kalimela and Swabhiman Anchal in Malkangiri district with the help of local farmers and smuggle it through Koraput district to Bihar, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Chhattisgarh.
According to police reports, the routes like Mudulipada-Ankadeli-Nadapur-Koraput, Malkangiri-Boipariguda-Kotpad, Lamataput-Semiliguda-Koraput and Chitrakonda-Jeypore-Kotpad are used to smuggle ganja.
At least 75 ganja smugglers belonging to Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Harayana have been lodged in Jeypore and Koraput jails in the last one year. An equal number of people from other States are wanted by police of Jeypore, Nandapur, Machkund, Borrigumma, Boipariugda and Semiliguda under the NDPS Act.