Malkangiri: Miscreants are using different ploys to carry out various crimes as well as to smuggle narcotic substances like Ganja (dry cannabis) in Odisha. This time the drug peddlers used an SUV with ‘Police Escort’ sticker and a blue beacon to smuggle Ganja in Malkangiri district.
However, such attempts to smuggle the Ganja proved futile as police managed to nab three peddlers during a vehicle inspection drive on Saturday night.
SS Tripathy, officer-in-charge of Balimela Police station said that the SUV had a police escort sticker and a blue beacon.
“As it is a Maoist dominated area, we had stopped the vehicle for verification. All the occupants had worn police uniforms. During search of the vehicle, we recovered one quintal of Ganja,” said Tripathy.
According to Tripathy, one accused managed to escape from the spot while three other peddlers were arrested.
The accused have been identified as Raju Kharifa, Rajiv Kumar and Akash Kumar. The trio hails from Bihar.
It is suspected that the Ganja consignment was being trafficked to Bihar and the peddlers tried to dodge suspicion by pasting a police escort sticker on the SUV.
(Edited By Pradeep Singh)