JEYPORE/BHAWANIPATNA: In yet another big cannabis haul in Koraput district, Jeypore Sadar police seized over one tonne ganja from a truck near Jabakonadi village on Monday. The worth of the seized contraband is estimated to be around Rs 1 crore. It was being smuggled outside Odisha in the truck. Police have arrested three persons including the vehicle’s driver.
On a tip-off about the smuggling of ganja in a truck, Sadar police conducted a raid and found the contraband packed in bags inside the vehicle’s cabin near the village. While the driver, identified as S Venkat Swamy of Machkund, was nabbed from the spot, others managed to flee to the nearby forest. During the investigation, it was found that the ganja was supplied by two persons of the Jalaput area within Machkund police limits.
Subsequently, police arrested the two suppliers, Suresh Benia of Jalaput village and Subash Chanda of Kanta. Apart from 1,008 kg ganja, police seized Rs 1.65 lakh cash, one bike and four mobile phones besides the truck. The three accused were produced in court and remanded to judicial custody. Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of Jeypore AA Behera said efforts are on to trace others involved in ganja smuggling. Notably, this is the third big ganja seizure in Jeypore sub-division in the last one week. Earlier, Jeypore police had seized 1,045 kg ganja while their Boipariguda counterpart had recovered 1,014 kg of the contraband.
Similarly, Kesinga police in Kalahandi district seized 573 kg ganja and arrested two persons on Sunday. The contraband was being smuggled in a pumpkin-laden truck. The arrested persons are Subhash Chaudhary (42) of Bulandshahr and Nitin Choudhury (22) of Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh Basing on reliable information, police raided a place near the railway under-bridge and seized the contraband hidden in a pumpkin-laden mini-truck. The accused were smuggling ganja from Padampur in Rayagada district to Ghaziabad. The accused duo was produced in court.