25.4 kg ganja, car and Rs 1 lakh cash seized in Odisha’s Sambalpur; 4 arrested

Police seized 25 kg and 400 grams of Ganja (cannabis) along with a car, cash worth Rs 1 lakh and five mobile phones during a checking operation in Odisha’s Sambalpur district. The seizure was made on Sunday by Jamankira police near Badarama on NH-53.

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According to police, the contraband was recovered from a car intercepted during routine vehicle checking. Along with the Ganja, officers also seized Rs 1 lakh in cash and five mobile phones. The estimated value of the seized contraband is around Rs 1.5 lakh.

Addressing a press conference later in the day, the Kuchinda sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Pradeep Kumar Das said the Ganja was being illegally transported from Sambalpur towards Kolkata. Four persons involved in the smuggling racket have been arrested.

The accused have been identified as Roshan Singh, Deepak Pandey, Mohammad Danish and Uttam Bagarti. All of them are residents of Sambalpur district. Police said the accused will be produced before a court on Monday. Further investigation is underway to ascertain links to a larger drug trafficking network.

“We were tipped off that a Honda City car was carrying Ganja and had been proceeding towards Sambalpur. Swinging into action, a police team had intercepted the vehicle, and following a thorough search, the team seized a huge cache of Ganja,” the SDPO said.

“Search operation was carried out in the presence of a local Magistrate and independent witnesses, leading to the seizure and arrests. The Ganja was recovered from two large sacks and later seized. A total of 25 kg and 400 grams of cannabis has been seized. Besides, cash of Rs 1 lakh of 500 denominations each was seized,” the SDPO started.

Police have also seized five mobile phones from the possession of the arrested.

Reported By: Debendra Behera