BERHAMPUR/PHULBANI: Three persons including a couple were arrested in separate incidents on Friday for their alleged involvement in smuggling ganja.
In the first incident, Adava police in Ganjam district arrested a couple while they were allegedly transporting around 26 kg ganja in a car near Barkote village. The accused, Bikash Kathua and Ritu Meena are both native of Madhya Pradesh.
Adava IIC Subhrant Panda said police were patrolling near the village on Friday evening when they intercepted the couple. On being informed, the cops searched the car and found the contraband concealed inside. “An NDPS case was registered and the couple arrested. During interrogation, they revealed the ganja had been procured from Guluba area and was being transported to Madhya Pradesh,” said the IIC adding, the accused were produced in court.
In another development, police seized around 328 kg ganja from a car and arrested its driver in Kandhamal district. The accused is Pramod Kumar Sahu of Sriram Nagar under Khajuripada police station. Police said Sahu was arrested from near Katramala village while he was transporting the contraband from Salaguda village to Phulbani. During search, the cops recovered 15 sacks of ganja from the vehicle and arrested the driver. Gochhapada IIC Chiranjib Behera said investigation was underway to ascertain if others were involved.