According to reports, the two accused were arrested by police on Wednesday while smuggling ganja and brought to Kalimela hospital for a health check-up before being produced before the court.
However, the duo managed to give the cops a slip.
"STF seized 165 kg of ganja/cannabis/marijuana/weeds near Banka-Palasa, Angul. Two peddlers were arrested. One country-made shotgun, one SUV and one bike were also seized," the STF said in a tweet.
According to the task force officials, acting on a tip-off, a raid was conducted near village Banka Palasa under Kishore Nagar police station in Angul district on Monday and seized 165 kg ganja.
The police apprehended two accused identified as Sushanta Kumar Sahoo, presently working as clerk-cum-cashier in State Bank of India, Kishore Nagar Branch and Jugal Sahoo, both belong to Angul district, they said.
One gun, one Mahindra XUV 300 car and Pulsar motorcycle from the possession of two accused, the STF said.
In this connection, the special task force registered a case under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and Arms Act. The accused are being forwarded to court, informed the officials.
Acting on a tip-off on the smuggling of narcotics, a team of Excise department personnel in Koraput stepped up vehicle checking drives at various places in the town.
During the checks, the sleuths intercepted a truck loaded with oal at Mendhaguda chhak and found the massive consignment of ganja concealed under the load of vegetables during checking, informed Excise Inspector Pramod Kumar Banua.
After unloading the vegetables, the officials found that the truck was carrying a whopping 10.29 quintals of ganja having market value worth of over Rs 50 lakh.
The truck driver has been arrested on charges of smuggling the contraband.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the registration number of truck belongs to Maharashtra. However, the other details like the source and the destination of the consignment and those involved in the smuggling are being probed, said Banua.
Several areas of this once an impregnable fortress of the left wing extremism are now on a journey towards witnessing a never before seen development.
The case of Khajuripada village in the Chitrakonda region also called the Swabhiman Anchal narrates the perfect story of this transformation.
In the not too distant past, Khajuriapada was known as a hub of ganja cultivation as many families resorted to farming cannabis under the push of Maoists who used to earn a good sum from the smuggling of the narcotics. All the while, development seemed a distant dream for the locals as most of the money never made its way to the hands of the public.
But slowly, with the enforcement of Maoist cleanup exercise following the establishment of a police camp at Jodamba and increased focus of the police and administration to bring the people of the region to the mainstream, the area gradually started to look beyond its world of ganja farming.
Now after being freed from the presence of the Maoists to a larger extent after years of struggle, the tribal people in the region are slowly shying away from ganja farming for vegetables and paddy cultivation to reclaim a new life.
Varieties of crops like chilly, brinjal, pumpkin, tomato, papaya are being grown in many acres of land in the area and the tribal people are earning their livelihood with honour. Not only vegetables, the tribal people in Jodamba area are also growing paddy in hundreds of acres of lands.
Despite a new optimism, people in the region rue that the government should make more efforts in substantiating them with better financial assistance and initiatives in their new endeavour.
“We request the government to provide us proper irrigation facilities, seeds and fertilizers for better production,” said Palasy, a resident of Khajuripada.
Meanwhile, the State Excise department has also decided to start an initiative to spread further awareness among the tribal people in the area to completely turn away from ganja farming and start a new life with honour.
“We have decided to intensify awareness campaigns among the tribals and motivate them to refrain from ganja farming. Various livelihood schemes of the State government will also be facilitated in the area to encourage them to earn livelihood and live a good life,” said Arun Kumar Padhy, Excise Superintendent, Malkangiri.
(Edited By Suryakant Jena)
Baghel who made the statement a day after an SUV, allegedly transporting ganja between MP and Odisha, ploughed into a religious procession in Jashpur district of Chhattisgarh killing one person and injuring 17 others, has urged Odisha and MP governments to take stern action against ganja trade.
The PTI quoted Baghel as saying that, "Whether it is Mahasamund or Bastar...ganja peddling continues to come from Odisha..so the government there should ascertain as to where does so much ganja come from. Odisha government should take stern action in this regard."
The statement made by the Chief Minister of the neighbouring State meanwhile has stoked a major political storm in Odisha.
Opposition BJP and Congress have pointed fingers at the Odisha government for failing to take exemplary action against Ganja smuggling syndicates which have brought infamy to the State. The Opposition has also alleged the involvement of some ruling party leaders and bureaucrats for promoting Ganja trade in the State.
BJP MLA Pradeep Purohit made an all-out attack on the ruling party in Odisha. "The biggest business of the BJD leaders sitting at the top is Ganja trade. All those involved in such an illegal syndicate should be brought to justice," said Purohit.
Congress leader Debasis Patnaik said the Odisha government is not taking any action against Ganja mafia as most of them are handled by their own party leaders.
The ruling BJD meanwhile has counter-attacked the Opposition political flanks for unnecessarily pointing the issue in Odisha too much at a time when Ganja and drugs trade in other neighbouring states have gone berserk.
"Drug and Ganja trade are a national issue and strong intelligence sharing and cooperation between states affected by the menace along with the participation of the Centre is the way forward to resolve the problem," said BJD MLA Sashi Bhusan Behera.
But while the allegations of Opposition political parties may seem exaggerated, the sheer frequency of incidents and proliferation of the trade of narcotics which continue to hog the limelight every day or the other indeed make the claims worth noting.
From saree packets to secret chambers inside containers and from banana-laden trucks to even police vehicles, Ganja peddlers continue to innovate new ways to evade the vigilant eyes of the police and Excise sleuths. There are ample instances of how Ganja procured from Odisha are being transported for smuggling to Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, UP, Punjab, Maharashtra. The cases of Ganja smuggling are especially more of a concern for bordering districts than anyone else.
Intellectuals and experts opine that despite police crackdown, easy leeway from courts comes as a relief for narcotic smugglers which is very serious.
Prahlad Singh, a de-addiction counsellor said Ganja procured from Odisha is the most-sought after in the entire country. So the State government needs to maintain extra caution, draft more stringent laws and ensure better investigation into smuggling cases.
Police and administration however have assured that the government continues to maintain strict vigil and finding ways to curb the menace.
Commenting in this regard, Rourkela SP Mukesh Bhamo said police are making strenous efforts to stop the cases of ganja smuggling in various ways and slowly its effects will show up.
The district police has issued a press statement to inform about the details of the seizure.
As per the statement, the office of competent authority and administrator, Kolkata, Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance issued a freezing order on the movable and immovable properties acquired from Ganja business of worth Rs 3,05,57,186.71 by the 11 persons as per the provision under Section 68 (F) of the NDPS act 1985.
According to police sources, nine out of the 11 persons hail from Malkangiri district while the rest two are from Andhra Pradesh. All of them were arrested during a crackdown on ganja smuggling in MV 79 area on February 1, 2021.
The police had confiscated around 1111 kgs of ganja from the possession of the accused.
Later, all of them were booked under U/S 20(b)(ii)(C)/25/27-A/29 of the NDPS act, 1985. Police also launched a process to trace the illegal property owned by the accused through the proceeds of the illegal syndicate of narcotics smuggling.
During the course of the investigation, police had also traced five buildings owned by the accused persons worth Rs 2,86,53,150, twelve bank accounts having total balance of Rs 71,036.71/- and six vehicles worth Rs 18,33,000/-.
Police have also reportedly traced illegal property worth over a crore belonging to one of the accused who happens to be former police personnel.
Meanwhile, Odisha Police DGP also congratulated Malkangiri Police for obtaining order of Competent Authority Kolkata confirming freezing property belonging to drug traffickers worth approx 3.5 crores in an NDPS/drug case of MV 79 PS. DGP termed the development as ‘One more victory against drug trafficking.’
The Chitrakonda Police on Saturday late night seized around 1500 kilograms of ganja while being smuggled in a pickup van from Malkangiri to Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh. Police have also arrested the driver of the vehicle for his alleged involvement in the illegal trade of the contraband items, informed the Chitrakonda Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Anshuman Dwibedi.
“The van was apprehended by the patrolling team near Rekhapalli village on the AP and Odisha border on Saturday night. When the vehicle was searched by the police team, we found around 1500 kg of ganja from the van. The market value of the seized ganja is estimated to be more than 1.5 crore,” said Dwibedi.
In another success for the Odisha Police, Adava Police on Sunday seized over 20 quintals of marijuana from a granite-laden truck near Mandrabaju village in R.Udaigiri area of Gajapati district and arrested two persons for their alleged involvement in the smuggling case.
The arrested duo has been identified as Ravi Singh and Raju Singh, both residents of Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh.
“The truck bearing registration no- UP78 DT7006 was carrying ganja along with granite when the police team intercepted the vehicle near Mandrabaju and arrested two persons. As many as 70 sacks of Ganja were seized from the truck while the contraband was being smuggled from R.Udayagiri area to Uttar Pradesh. The estimated value of the seized ganja will be Rs 1 crore,” informed the SDPO of R.Udayagiri, Dilip Kumar Nayak.
The scribe, identified as Hemant Takri, working for Koraput Baipariguda-based private web channel, Biswabijayi, was caught red-handed by the police with the smuggled contraband.
A special team led by Mudulipada PS Officer In-Charge (OIC) was stationed at Jhariaguda checkpoint for vehicle inspection. They intercepted a pick-up van and a four-wheeler speeding up towards Jeypore. The cops tried to stop the vehicles, however, they didn't stop at the checkpoint.
The on-duty cops at the checkpoint chased the vehicles and successfully nabbed them. The police found the vehicles loaded with a huge cache of Ganja. Seizing the vehicles, police took five persons to Mudulipada police station for interrogation.
"Our team was stationed at Jhariaguda for vehicle checking. Meanwhile, a speeding car followed by a pickup van stopped after seeing the police team. However, after they tried to escape the spot, we chased and nabbed them," informed Anshuman Dwibedi, SDPO, Chitrakonda.
"We have arrested five accused and seized the haul of ganja which worths over a crore. The investigation process is underway and we will try to collect more information," added Dwibedi.
Following the interrogation, the culprits admitted of smuggling Ganja to other states from Chitrakonda.
(Edited By Suryakant Jena)
Sanjiv Satpathy, ACP Zone-5, said that the accused used to smuggle ganja by concealing the contraband in garment consignments through private courier services. 45 kgs of Ganja worth over Rs 3 lakh has been seized, he said.
Preliminary investigation reveals that the accused from Delhi were staying at a rented house in Bhubaneswar. They used to procure the contraband from different peddlers in Gajapati district. “One of the duo would send the Ganja in garments consignments through courier while the other used to receive the delivery at designated addresses in the National Capital. It appears to be a well-organised racket. We are also investigating the role of the courier company,” said Satpathy.
According to Satpathy, the accused were successful in sending Ganja consignments to the National Capital city from Bhubaneswar through the courier company three to four times in the past.
The Commissionerate Police managed to nab both the accused after getting credible inputs during the ongoing drive against narcotics in the city. Based on intelligence input, a raid was conducted at the courier agency and the contraband was recovered from packets of garments.
“The Delhi youths have links with some agents in Odisha. As the investigation is still continuing, it will not be appropriate to comment further about how they were operating the crime syndicate. However, we will bring them on remand to bust the entire racket. We will also examine what protocol is being followed by the courier companies and will take appropriate action if we find any lapses,”Satpathy added.
Police today nabbed two miscreants while trying to smuggle ganja arranged in guise of a dead body inside a vehicle.
The cops seized the fake 'ambulance' at Gobindpalli chhak in the town and recovered nearly 123 kg of ganja that was being smuggled outside the state.
"We had put up a check post near the chhak following a tip off about one such vehicle passing through the area. During the course of inspection, we intercepted an ambulance and upon inspection, we found nearly 123 kg of ganja placed in guise of a dead body inside the vehicle," Gobindpalli police outpost in-charge Manoranjan Kumbhar said.
The accused duo hail from Bhopal area of Madhya Pradesh. The narcotics and the fake ambulance have been seized, police said.
The cops also seized 70 kgs ganja and two bikes from their possession.
Sources said the duo identified as Siddheswar Digal and Maharia Digal of Kumelsingh village was smuggling the cannabis on two motorcycles when the cops intercepted them on Kadampanga Ghati road. Later, the police recovered 70 kgs ganja from their possession. The police registered a complaint in this regard and forwarded the accused to court.
Last month, police had seized ganja weighing around 27 kg and arrested three persons after conducting raid in Baliguda area of the district.
Acting on a tip-off that narcotics substance was being illegally transported in a truck, the officials of DRI intercepted the vehicle near Khandagiri Square in Bhubaneswar.
The officials have also detained one person and interrogating him to elicit further information.
The ganga was stashed in packets and were hidden behind consignment of dress materials, nuts, oil, etc.
Official sources said, the Ganja was being smuggled from Ichchapuram in Andhra Pradesh to Bhubaneswar and would have been transported to Bihar.
Acting on a tip-off, the Balimela police conducted simultaneous raids at several places near Chitrakonda and detained three vehicles, including a car, a tipper and a mini truck with the contraband items.
The ganja peddlers attempted to give the cops a slip by smuggling the cannabis in a luxury car with a blue beacon light atop it but Balimela police seized all the three vehicles during the raids.
Sources said the items were being smuggled to Chhattisgarh from Chitrakonda area.
The accused have been identified as Manoj Hota of Cuttack and Surya Madhab Keshari Balabantaray and Badal Jena of Jagatsinghpur district.
Acting on a tip-off about transportation of the contraband items in a car, police swung into action and launched an inspection of vehicles at Kandarpur on Cuttack-Paradip road.
During the checking, 16 kgs ganja and 50 gms brown sugar were seized from the car.
Five mobile phones and Rs 11,100 cash were also seized from the trio. Further investigation in connection with the incident is on, police said.
The Ganja peddlers used a unique modus operandi to run the racket and they used to bring Ganja from Southern Odisha, particularly Phulbani and sell the contraband in various local markets and well as outside the State.
The accused have been identified as Basudev Parida, 34, native of Begunia and S. Manoj, 29, S. Mohan, 30, both residents of Karnataka.
The police said the cost of ganja was around Rs 3000 per kilogram in the state while its rate multiplied 10 times in Karnataka for which the gang used to smuggle the narcotics from Odisha.
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To give the cops a slip, they used to transport the Ganja in luxurious cars having private numbers and keep cumin powder in the vehicles.
The gang used to threaten people by brandishing gun and even give bribe to escape from their clutches, police said.
https://youtu.be/qdFgzJBZPO8
As per reports, the two transgenders were allegedly lured by a youth from Kandhamal to transport the Ganja from Odisha to Surat.
One of the accused said that they were induced with a promise of Rs 16,000 by the youth for the job.
“I gave in to the temptation and agreed to carry the contraband to a person in Gujarat. The consignment (of Ganja) was procured by someone a month back and the person from Kandhamal asked me to hand it over to a person in Surat,” said one of the accused.
Sources said that as the livelihood of transgenders has been affected due to Covid lockdown, they are suspected to have been resorting to such unlawful activities to make ends meet.
Both the accused were arrested from Bhubaneswar railway station on Tuesday.
Kali Sethi, Inspector-in-charge of Bhubaneswar Railway Protection Force (RPF) said that the accused were nabbed based on intelligence inputs about contraband smuggling.
“We had information that the two transgenders from Beguniapada in Ganjam district were planning to go to Surat in Gandhidham Express with the contraband consignment,” said Sethi.
Sethi further informed that a search operation was subsequently launched and the two accused were intercepted at the platform. During searches, 16 kilograms of Ganja, market value of which is said to be around Rs 1.5 lakh, was recovered from their baggage.
“Due to stringent enforcement activities by the East Coast Railway to check harassment of passengers by transgenders, it is suspected that the accused might have taken up such illegal way to earn livelihood,” Sethi added.
The officials accompanied by excise sleuths from Bhadrak and Balasore division raided the residence of one Kanhu Jena and seized more than one quintal of the contraband. While, Kanhu is absconding since the raid, his wife Swarnaprava Jena was arrested and forwarded to the court.
“More than one quintal of ganja worth Rs 10 lakh was seized during the raid. We have arrested wife of Kanhu Jena. Efforts are on to nab him too,” informed Inspector-in-Charge of the squad, Sarat Chandra Bhanja. Further investigation into the case in on.
#WATCH: Joint team of excise and police officials seize more than one quintal ganja from a house at Naupur village in #Keonjhar district #Odisha pic.twitter.com/tCagXYFbqN
— OTV (@otvnews) September 4, 2018
Acting on a tip-off, the excise sleuths conducted a raid on the Express train while it was halted at the Cuttack Railway Station at around 1 am. During the raid, the sleuths apprehended a person and recovered nearly two quintals of Marijuana from his possession.
Meanwhile, official sources claimed that the contraband item was illegally being smuggled from Patna to Gandhipalli area in Cuttack and Haldiapalli area in Bhubaneswar.
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“The arrested has been identified as Manas Ranjan Singh. As per preliminary interrogation, it has been ascertained that the marijuana was being smuggled from Patna to Cuttack while the value of the contraband is estimated to be Rs 2 lakh. We suspect there is a big racket behind this and further investigation is on to nab other persons involved in the racket,” said an official.
Two days ago, the Chitrakonda Police had seized 145 kilogram ganja, which was being trafficked in a car, at Guntacheda in Malkangiri. However, two persons who were transporting the contraband item managed to escape. Sources said that the ganja was being smuggled to Madhya Pradesh from Papulara of Chirtakonda.
According to reports, a team of Mudulipada Police station intercepted the truck and seized the ganja which was concealed in onion consignment. The ganja from Chitrakonda was being smuggled to Raipur in Chhatisgarh.
Two persons have been arrested while further investigation in this connection is on, police said.
It is not for the first time that ganja consignment from Malkangiri has been seized. Earlier,two miscreants were arrested while trying to smuggle 123 kg ganja arranged in guise of a dead body inside a vehicle at Govindpali area in July 2018.
On May 27, 2018, ajoint team of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Malkangiri district police seized 1,500 kgs of Ganja worth nearly Rs two to three crore from a truck near Balimela.
The contraband was illegally being smuggled to Nasik in Maharashtra from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, sources said.
After getting a tip-off on the movement of a vehicle carrying ganja in the locality, Adaba police intensified patrolling to nab the accused identified as Sartam Khan, Nizam Khan, Sahagir Seikh and Mussarat Khan.
As per reports, the contraband item was being transported to Berhampur from Renugaon area under Adaba police limits in the district.
“We are suspecting that the accused are involved in an inter-state ganja racket. They were carrying the contraband item in four packets and were waiting for a vehicle. They will be forwarded to the court today," said Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of R.Udayagiri, Anil Kumar Pradhan.
A police investigation is currently underway.
According to sources, extensive cannabis farming is prevalent in as many as 18 panchayats of the district. The farmers staying in these areas prefer to grow cannabis instead of traditional crops like paddy, moong and millets for several reasons.
“We suffer losses in growing cash crops due to lack of irrigation and other facilities. Besides, the government is also not providing any financial assistance so we are forced to adopt ganja farming,” said a farmer.
As per reports, cannabis farming is quite profitable and it does not need much care and can withstand harsh weather conditions and water scarcity. Besides, it is easy to maintain and harvest. On the other hand, growing cash crops is harder and earning profits from the harvest is subjected to weather condition and irrigation facilities.
This apart, rise in demand for narcotics like cannabis in and outside the State has also made the local mafia to promote the cultivation of the forbidden crop.
Experts say that lack of awareness and poor financial condition are forcing the farmers to go for cannabis farming. While they have questioned the rise in farming of the forbidden crop on the backdrop of government’s strict action against its cultivation, Excise Department has said that regular raids are being carried out to destroy the crop.
Excise official Ashok Seth said,“ Police and Excise Department have jointly destroyed 1877 acres of land with illegal ganja crops in last few months but lack of adequate security and vehicular communication through the region is proving a deterrent.”
Chitrakonda IIC Ram Prasad Nag also corroborated the statements of the Excise Department officials and assured that stringent action will be taken to curb ganja farming in the region.
After getting a tip-off regarding the movement of a vehicle transporting Ganja in Bissamcuttack area in Rayagada district, Bissamcuttack police had intensified patrolling in the area yesterday.
Subsequently, the cops spotted a vehicle which had met an accident near Bissamcuttack jail. Later, huge cache of dry cannabis was recovered from the vehicle bearing the registration number of West Bengal.
In another incident, two persons were also arrested for their alleged involved in the illicit narcotics trade.
“We have seized 190 kilograms of Ganja worth Rs 5 lakh in two separate raids,” said Bisamcuttack Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Chandrasekhar Hota.
Boudh Police seized 270 kgs of Ganja worth nearly Rs 15lakh was seized from Tikarpada area and arrested two accused-Jogindra Kanhar and Sinhu Kanhar in connection with incident.
Officials of the Excise department seized nearly 23 kilograms Ganja following raids under Sadar Police limits of Kandhamal district and arrested four persons.
Senior officials informed that 32 Kg ganja worth Rs 4 lakh has been seized from their possession.
Acting on a tip-off, the special team of excise officials intercepted a four-wheeler and seized two packets of ganja from the vehicle. The arrested students are from a private engineering college in Bhubaneswar and were carrying ganja from Kandhamal to Balasore, sources said.
"During patrolling, we tracked a Maruti Suzuki vehicle in which the three engineering students were transporting ganja worth Rs 4 lakh. The detained students hail from Kandhamal," said Jagdish Chandra Samal, Inspector, Excise Department, central division, Cuttack.
The excise officials have intensified probe to ascertain more information in connection with the case.
Bhubaneswar: The menace of illegal ganja (cannabis) cultivation and smuggling is back in focus with the seizure of 170 quintals of the contraband in Koraput district two days ago. Police also arrested seven persons from Uttar Pradesh who were trying to smuggle the consignment out of Odisha.
The consignment had been procured from the neighbouring Malkangiri district which is considered to be the haven of ganja growers and smugglers. Incidently, both Koraput and Malkangiri happen to be Maoist bastions and the ultras are known to patronise the cultivation of cannabis which helps fund their subversive operations.
Before this 45 kilograms of ganja being routed from Boipariguda in Koraput to Raipur in neighbouring Chhatisgarh had been seized by the authorities. Last February there was another big ganja haul by Malkangiri police who impounded a truck carrying 8 quintals of the contrand and arrested two persons in this connection.
What is significant is that notwithstanding regular seizure of the contraband enforcement authorities in the state have been struggling to curb rampant ganja cultivation and trade. If sources are to be believed an ambitious plan had been drafted a few years ago to identify cannabis plantations in various parts of the state through satellite imagery so that they could be destroyed by the authorities. But the plan remains a non-starter.
One is given to understand that the agency which had been entrusted with the task of identifying cannabis plantations, often tucked away in deep forests and hills, has not been able to carry out the task in the absence of required intelligence inputs about the plantations from districts such as Angul, Deogarh, Boudh, Kandhamal, Rayagada, Gajapati and Malkangiri. Most of these districts are known for Maoist activities with ultras patronizing the trade to finance their operations against the state.
If sources are to be believed plantations in some areas have been destroyed by joint teams of police and excise departments acting without the aid of satellite imagery. But in some areas like Deogarh and Sambalpur the plantations have been hard to locate.
Going by statistics cannabis plantations spread over nearly 2,457 acres had been destroyed by the authorities by the end of September, 2016 against a target of 3,050 acres for the year 2015-16. Before that ganja grown over an area of 3,768 acres had been set on fire.
A major problem for the enforcement agencies conducting raids against cannabis plantations has been change in the cultivation pattern with growers moving to new areas that make it hard to collect information and plan coercive action. Hence, stress should be on strengthening the intelligence gathering mechanism, especially by revenue and forest officials if the state has to win the war against ganja.
Cannabis, according to available information, is being grown in 10 districts of the state, namely Angul, Deogarh, Gajapati, Rayagada, Malkangiri, Nayagarh, Sambalpur, Boudh, Kandhamal and Cuttack. Till a few years ago Angul used to be known as the cannabis capital of Odisha but sustained drive by the enforcement agencies has made growers move to newer areas like Boudh and Kandhamal and even parts of Nayagarh. This makes the challenge of curbing the ganja menace tougher.
(DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion piece. The views expressed are author’s own and have nothing to do with OTV’s charter or views. OTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
Acting on a tip-off, the Excise officials raided a duplex building near Kolathia in Khandagiri area of the capital city.
During the search, the sleuths seized 10 quintals of ganja with an estimated cost of around Rs 50 lakh.
This apart, the officials arrested one Subal Samantaray, a native of Balasore from the building on charges of possessing huge amount of ganja.
As per reports, Samantaray is an inter-state ganja smuggler and has been involved in smuggling for past several years. He brought the ganja packets to Bhubaneswar from Mohana area of Gajapati district in private buses and had rented the duplex building on a monthly charge of Rs 10,000 to store the ganja packets.
The reports suggested that Samantaray's family members were also aware of his illegal business.
“Samantaray used to smuggle ganja to Kolkata from Odisha. He used to collect the contraband from Adaba in Gajapati at a price of Rs 1,200 per kg and sell them at Rs 5,000 outside the State. He is not alone into ganja sumggling, efforts are on to nab his other associates. An investigation is underway,” an Excise official said, adding that Samantaray’s son-in-law was also caught in Delhi while smuggling ganja and lodged in jail.
Claiming that he had been involved in ganja smuggling for past six months, Samantaray said, “I was alone into this illegal trade and no one else is involved.”
Malkangiri SP Rishikesh D Khilari informed that Police have arrested two persons in this connection and forwarded them to court.
Reportedly, the water tanker smuggling ganja was on its way to Uttar Pradesh from Chitrakonda in the district when a team of Mathili Police Station, engaged in patrolling in the area stopped the vehicle, said the SP.
During checking, the team found the contraband item stuffed inside the vehicle, added Khilari.
Sources said this year a total of 22, 407 kg of ganja have been seized and 201 persons arrested while smuggling the contraband items. This apart, police have also been successful in destroying ganja cultivation spread in acres of land in several districts.
Keeping all this in view, the State government has given special allocation to the Excise and Police departments of nine districts- Malkangiri, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Kandhamal, Rayagada, Boudh, Gajapati, Angul and Nayagarh to destroy illegal ganja cultivation.
As per official data, the state government has allocated Rs 62 lakh in 2019-20 and Rs 46.65 lakh in 2018-19.Similarly, 56,75 lakh was earmarked in 2017-18, Rs 58.85 lakh in 2016-17 and 58.71 lakh in 2015-16.
Sources said, following a directive from the Ganjam District Collector, a joint team comprising Ganjam DSP, Aska SDPO, Excise officials of Sorada, Forest officials, officials of Aska, Dharakote, Sorada and Badagada police stations reached Khajuripadar village today to destroy illegal ganja cultivation on around 50 acre of government land.
The villagers opposed the move and tried to stop the officials from destroying the marijuana plantations. Instead, they asked the officials to shut the nearby liquor shops before destroying the hemp plantations.
Following stiff opposition from villagers, ganja cultivation in only a few acres could be destroyed during the drive.
“The villagers earn huge profits from illegal ganja cultivation on government land. The cannabis is smuggled to places like Berhampur, Aska, Bargarh and outside the state to Surat and Bihar,” said Additional SP of Excise Department, Abhiram Behera.
On the other hand, Dharakote Tehsildar, Koresh Jani appealed villagers to adopt agriculture for livelihood instead of illegal ganja cultivation.
https://youtu.be/c38h771XVP0
Acting on an intel about the smuggling of the prohibited narcotics, officials of Vishakhapatnam DRI on Wednesday intercepted the goods carriage vehicle bearing registration number- OD 02 BD 4155 and an escort car bearing registration number- OD U 7223 near NAD Junction.
Later, the officials searched the goods carriage vehicle and found 40 bags concealed under a load of banana stalks. The bags were stuffed with 800 packets of brown packets containing ganja. The DRI officials also arrested four persons for their involvement in the transportation of the cannabis.
Sources said, the contraband consignment was loaded in the vehicle near Narsipatnam on February 26 and handed over to the driver near Anakapalle the same day. The contraband item was reportedly procured from Vishaka agency area and was being transported to Bhubaneswar.
The said item was detained under the provisions of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. Meanwhile, the DRI has also seized the vehicle and further investigation into the case is on.
A home guard identified as Banabasi Maharana, who had received critical injuries in the attack, died while undergoing treatment at Mahili Community Health Centre (CHC).
Acting on a tip-off about the smuggling of marijuana, a team of Balimela Police reportedly intercepted around 70 ganja traders who were engaged in transporting the narcotics on their shoulders from Chitrakonda to Chhattisgarh through Balimela-Mathili forest yesterday night.
However, the traders reportedly attack the police team and fled the spot taking advantage of the darkness in the jungle.
Meanwhile, Malkangiri SP Rishikesh D Khilari rushed the spot and took stock of the situation. Further investigation in connection with the incident is underway.
(Edited By Pradeep Singh)
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Banabasi was allegedly hacked to death on Sunday while opposing marijuana (ganja) smugglers.
According to reports, around 70 ganja traders attacked a team of Balimela police station officials in Malkangiri district when the cops tried to stop them from smuggling marijuana late Saturday night.
“Most of the policemen suffered injuries in the scuffle. However, home guard Banabasi suffered severe injuries and was rushed to the hospital,” said Rishikesh Khilari, the superintendent of police.
After reaching the hospital, Maharana succumbed to his injuries. His mortal remains were buried at his home village Sunanata village in Ganjam.
Meanwhile, Odisha government has promised financial aid to the family of the deceased.
Further investigation in connection with the incident to nab the other accused is underway.
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Acting on a tip off that the smuggled Ganja (cannabis) was being transported in a Bolero jeep, a team from the Excise department set a trap and intercepted the vehicle near Khordha-Cuttack bypass.
Moreover, the team seized 16 different registration number plates from the vehicles, sources informed.
Earlier on September 11, ganja worth Rs 11 lakh seized from a shop at Balipatna area in Padmapur. Similarly, on September 5, cannabis weighing five quintals was seized from Khandagiri area.
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This time, a team of police officials seized a huge cache of ganja (dry cannabis) covered by PPE kits while it was being transported in an ambulance near Budhamba under Kabisuryangar Police limits in Ganjam district Sunday evening.
Kabisuryangar Police has also arrested two persons involved in smuggling of the contraband item. The exact amount of ganja seized and identity of the arrested persons are yet to be revealed by the police.
As per reports, the Kabisuryangar Police was patrolling near Budhamba police outpost yesterday evening when it intercepted the ambulance. They later searched the vehicle and seized the narcotics.
The ambulance was reportedly heading towards Kodala from Digapahandi, said reports.
Further investigation into the case is under by the Kabisuryangar Police.
In a related incident, the Excise department officials today seized seven quintals of ganja during a raid at Sargiguda village in Malkangiri district. The market value of the seized ganja is stated to be around worth Rs 50 lakh.
Three peddlers have also been arrested and taken for interrogation in connection with the matter, added reports.
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As per reports, the excise sleuths laid a trap on NH-16 near Lanjipalli in Berhampur at 9am after getting a tip off about two suspected Ganja peddler. They apprehended a pickup truck at the check post whose occupants reportedly started a quarrel with the officials. Nevertheless, upon searching it, at least 160 Kgs of the contraband was found in hidden compartments of the vehicle.
The Ganja was reportedly procured from R Udaygiri area in Gajapati district and was being transported to Athagarh in Cuttack.
The pickup truck had a fake registration number too. It sported an Odisha registration plate, but further investigation revealed that the vehicle actually belonged to the state of Jharkhand.
In the second incident, the same excise officials arrested a youth in Berhampur who had 10 Kgs of Ganja in his possession.
Briefing media, Shantanu Kumar Nayak, the Deputy Commissioner of Excise Department in Berhampur said, "After getting a tip off, I sent our inspector and other staff for patrolling at Lanjipalli who did a remarkable job in apprehending those suspects."
"The drug peddlers are getting cautious now-a-days. They usually avoid transporting the Ganja in buses and use small private vehicles for the purpose," said Nayak.
(Edited By Suryakant Jena)
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)
Police have also arrested two persons identified Chaturam of Bihar and Rajiya Paswan of Delhi in connection with the illegal trade. The market value of the contraband is estimated to be around Rs 4 lakh, said police sources.
The contraband was being transported from Andhra Pradesh via Machkund, Lamtaput and Jeypore to Bihar in a Bolero, said reports.
A joint team of Machkund and Lamtaput police were conducting patrolling in Machkund area when they tried to intercept a four-wheeler. However, Chaturam, who was at the wheel did not stop the vehicle and sped away forcing the police officials to give it a chase.
The police team overtook the vehicle near Kanagaon Chhak. Following searches, police recovered the ganja concealed inside the seat of the vehicle and arrested the two peddlers.
Meanwhile, Chaturam and Rajiya have been taken to the Lamtaput Police Station for interrogation in connection with the incident, added reports. Further investigation into the case is underway.
(Edited By Ramakant Biswas)
Semiliguda Police on Sunday seized around 15.77 quintal of Ganja near Daliamba chhak while it was being illegally transported in a tanker trunk. The market value of the seized contraband is estimated to be more than Rs 75 Lakh, said police sources.
The Semiliguda Police were reportedly patrolling at the Daliamba chhak area when they intercepted the tanker. The three peddlers, who were inside the vehicle, fled the spot leaving the vehicle behind.
Meanwhile, police have seized the contraband and launched a manhunt to nab the miscreants.
Similarly, the Excise department officials on Saturday seized around 20 quintals of Ganja from a poultry feed-laden truck near Kanisi area on NH-16 in Berhampur in Ganjam district.
Reportedly, one drug peddler was detained in connection with the illegal trade. The seized Ganja may worth more than Rs 1 crore, said sources.
Miscreants are reportedly using different techniques to smuggle narcotic substances like Ganja (dry cannabis) in the State. However, they have been futile in their plan as Odisha police has been regularly conducting patrolling and have seized the narcotic substances across the State in the past few months.
Besides, police have also successfully nabbed several drug peddlers who were involved in drug peddling.
(Edited By Pradeep Singh)
The home guard has been identified as Khirod Kumar Sahoo of Salepur area in Cuttack district while the other two are- Purnachandra Mallik of Balisuga village and Sashi Mallik of Madinata under Baliguda block of the district.
Yesterday, the three persons were travelling in a car in Baliguda with the ganja consignment when they were intercepted by the local police posted on patrolling duty.
Subsequently, police searched the vehicle and recovered 40.7 kilograms of cannabis from their possession. Police also seized the car and arrested the trio.
Earlier on Monday, Malkangiri police seized 14.11 quintal of dry cannabis and arrested the eight persons including a home guard of MV 79 police station and a woman.
The seized contraband was being transported in a truck to Bihar via Malkangiri district. The expected market value of the ganja was estimated to be over Rs 1 crore.
On January 31, the Excise Department officials seized around 20 quintals of ganja in Berhampur in Ganjam district.
Similarly, in another incident in Koraput on January 30, 15.77 quintal ganja worth Rs 75 lakh was seized by Semiliguda Police while it was being transported in a tanker trunk.
(Edited By Rashmi Ranjan Mohanty)
On a tip-off, police intercepted a truck at a Foot Over Bridge (FOB) on the Eastern Express highway in suburban Vikhroli on Friday evening and found ganja, he said.
The contraband was being smuggled in Mumbai from Odisha in the truck, the official said, adding that Akash Yadav (25) and Dinesh Kumar Saroj (26) were arrested.
The kingpin of the inter-state smuggling racket is identified as Laxmikant Pradhan, a resident of Ganjam district in Odisha, the official said.
"Members of this racket used to bring 5 tonnes of ganja in Maharashtra every month and around 3 to 4 tonnes of it was distributed in Mumbai and neighbouring districts," he said.
Milind Bharambe, Joint Commissioner of Police (crime), told reporters that the gang used to hire trucks from Mumbai under the guise of importing coconuts, but would actually smuggle in ganja.
"The empty trucks (from Maharashtra) used to taken up to a town located on the borders of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, where another set of drivers and cleaners used to take charge.
These trucks used to proceed to Ganjam to bring ganja.
Meanwhile, the first set of drivers and cleaners used to rest in a hotel. Their mobile phones kept switched off until the new set of drivers replaced them," Bharambe said.
"(On return journey from Ganjam) the trucks used to reach Mumbai via Hyderabad, Solapur and Pune. Some consignment of ganja used to be unloaded in Solapur and Pune," the police officer said.
He said the gang used to unload the smuggled ganja at a godown in Bhiwandi in Thane district neighbouring Mumbai.
"The contraband used to be supplied from this godown to Mumbai and suburbs, Thane, Palghar, Vasai, Virar, and Surat," he said.
Bharambe said at least 2.5 tonnes of marijuana used to be smuggled to Maharashtra every 15 days.
The man responsible for distribution of the contraband in Mumbai and neighbouring areas has been identified as Sabdeep Satpute, he said, adding that money was moved either through hawala or in the form of cash.
A hunt is launched for Pradhan, Satpute and other members of the gang, said another official.
He said the ANC had seized various narcotics worth Rs 15 crore in the last four months in 32 cases and arrested 65 people.