Over 1000 kg ganja seized in Odisha, 4 arrested

The Special Task Force (STF) seized over 1000 kg of ganja during a raid in a stockyard in the Riamal area of Deogarh district on Wednesday.

As many as four peddlers have been arrested in connection with the case and three vehicles were seized from their possession.

The arrested accused have been identified as Ashish Kumar Barik from Sambalpur, Subas Sikdar from Bargarh, Ratan Sahu from Angul and Samit Nayak from Chhendipada.

As per reports, the STF team conducted the raid while the peddlers were taking the contraband to deliver at different places. They arrested the accused on the pretext of procuring the contraband as customers.

As per STF sources, the main arrested accused, Ashish Kumar Barik was also earlier arrested in 2021 in connection with an illegal drug smuggling case.

Further investigation is currently underway to find the root of the ganja racket.

“Special drives against illegal peddling of drugs will continue in future,” said an STF official.