Odisha: Cop who smuggled ganja was a habitual offender

The reserve police constable arrested by Excise officials for smuggling ganja to Raipur on Wednesday had successfully shipped consignments at least on three occasions in the past.
The jackfruit and pumpkin-laden van from which the ganja was seized | Express
The jackfruit and pumpkin-laden van from which the ganja was seized | Express

MALKANGIRI: The reserve police constable arrested by Excise officials for smuggling ganja to Raipur on Wednesday had successfully shipped consignments at least on three occasions in the past. This is for the first time a policeman has been arrested under NDPS Act in the district.

Sanjeeb Hira, the constable, was produced before a local court here on Thursday. Value of the seized contraband is estimated to be around Rs 40 lakh.  Addressing mediapersons, Excise Superintendent Ashok Kumar Seth said, his team had laid traps at different places acting on a tip off that ganja was being smuggled from Chitrakonda to Raipur in a pick-up van on Wednesday evening.

“We noticed a pick-up van loaded with jackfruit and pumpkin speeding on Balimela-Malkangiri road. When we tried to intercept the van, it hit our vehicle and sped away. Another Excise team at Korukonda successfully intercepted the van and recovered around eight quintal ganja hidden in 31 packets beneath the jackfruit and pumpkin stacks,” he said.  

Sanjeeb was driving the van. During interrogation, he admitted that he had earlier smuggled the contraband thrice to Chhattisgarh without getting caught. The constable used to get safe passage by driving the vehicle himself. “He also confessed that three other persons of MV-10 and Chitrakonda including a government employee were involved in the smuggling,” the superintendent added. Two mobile phones and Rs 3,920 in cash were seized from the constable. 

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