SONEPUR : In a major crackdown, Sonepur police registered nine NDPS cases in four days and seized nearly 15 quintals of ganja along with banned cough syrup worth Rs 20 crore, besides apprehending 14 accused persons and one child in conflict with law (CCL).
The crackdown began on Monday when the police seized the contraband in four separate cases, including a major haul of over 10.5 quintals of ganja concealed in 1,067 packets worth Rs 1.05 crore. Police recovered the ganja from a 14-wheeler lorry and two Bihar natives were arrested in connection with the case.
In another case, 37.45 kg of ganja worth Rs 3.74 lakh was seized from Birmaharajpur and three accused were apprehended while transporting the contraband on two bikes.
Similarly, one person was arrested with 3.72 kg of ganja worth Rs 37,200 was seized in Binka area. A separate operation in the same area resulted in the recovery of 240 bottles of codeine-laced cough syrup worth Rs 48,000 from a car. Three persons were apprehended in connection with the case.
On Wednesday, three more cases were registered, including a seizure of over 1.32 quintals of ganja worth around Rs 2 crore from a car under Tarva police limits and arrest of three persons. In the other two cases which were reported from Sonepur and Lachhipur areas, a total of 82.32 kg ganja was seized and three persons apprehended including the CCL.
Police unearthed two more cases on Thursday, recovering 152 kg of ganja and arresting five persons from Birmaharajpur and Sonepur town.
IG (Northern Range) Himansu Lal said, “Our focus is on making Odisha drug-free. With the recent crackdowns, we have dismantled several contraband supply networks and uncovered unconventional modus operandi.”
Sonepur SP Narayan Nayak said, “The recent operations were largely intelligence-driven and carried out in close coordination between multiple police stations, which helped us make swift interceptions and arrests. These actions are part of the ongoing ‘Nasha Mukt Odisha Abhiyan.”