OSRTC bus used for ganja smuggling; conductor, three others held

Sundargarh Town Police busted an illegal ganja (cannabis) smuggling operation involving an Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) bus and also held its conductor as an accomplice in the crime.

Sources reported that police received intelligence inputs about ganja being trafficked using a public transportation bus. Acting on the same, authorities apprehended an OSRTC bus travelling from Jeypore to Rourkela and seized 40 kilograms of ganja, estimated to be worth Rs 4 lakh.

During the investigation, police found that the bus conductor was directly involved in the operation and arrested him along with three other individuals, who were all later produced in court.

How Were the Smugglers Operating?

The modus operandi of the cannabis smugglers involved packing about 10 kg of ganja in trolley bags and disguising them as passenger luggage. They also used a state-government-run OSRTC bus to further ward off any suspicion and project themselves as tourists.

Meanwhile, sources added that authorities have intensified their vigilance to prevent further instances of illegal ganja smuggling and have taken note of the new methods being devised by smugglers to move cannabis both within and outside the state borders.

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'Green Clean' Mission:

Notably, earlier this month, Odisha Director General of Police (DGP) Yogesh Bahadur Khurania had directed all SPs of Odisha Police to take steps and launch a comprehensive crackdown on ganja cultivation, with an aim to curb the practice by March 31 of this year.

ALSO READ: Green Clean Mission: 42 acres of ganja cultivation worth Rs 8 crore destroyed in Odisha's Gajapati

The move further aligns with the state government’s ‘Green Clean’ campaign, under which it plans to eradicate ganja cultivation in Odisha by 2026.