Raipur
Jashpur police on Sunday seized 632.380 kg of ganja, estimated to be worth Rs 3.16 crore, from a Tata Eicher truck at the Lavakera police checking barrier and arrested a 42-year-old man who was allegedly transporting the contraband from Odisha to Uttar Pradesh.
The ganja had been concealed beneath sacks filled with empty bottles in an apparent attempt to evade police checks. The truck, two mobile phones and Rs 3,000 in cash were also seized, taking the total value of the seizure to Rs 3.41 crore, police said.
The action was carried out around 10am on Sunday by a joint team of the Anti-Narcotics Team and Tapkara police, which was checking suspicious vehicles entering Jashpur from Odisha. The team stopped Tata Eicher truck (UP-47-AT-9839) on suspicion and searched it.
Police initially found sacks containing empty bottles placed on top. When these were removed, the team found other sacks underneath containing taped packets. On opening the packets, police found ganja. In the presence of witnesses, 597 packets packed in 20 sacks were recovered, weighing 632.380 kg in total.
The arrested accused has been identified as Vinod Kumar Gupta, 42, a resident of Beria Khalilpur village under Dehat Kotwali police station in Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh. During questioning, he allegedly told police that he was taking the ganja from Odisha to Uttar Pradesh. He could not produce valid documents for the consignment, police said.
Police estimated the value of the seized ganja at Rs 3.16 crore, the truck at around Rs 25 lakh and the two mobile phones at around Rs 25,000. Including the cash, the total seizure was valued at Rs 3,41,47,000.
A case has been registered at Tapkara police station under Section 20(B)(ii)(C) of the NDPS Act and investigation is underway. Police are probing the source of the ganja, the intended recipient in Uttar Pradesh and the involvement of other persons in the trafficking network.
The seizure is the second major narcotics haul by Jashpur police at the same checking barrier within two days. On October 2, a joint team had seized 440.630 kg of ganja from a Tata Eicher mini-truck and arrested two alleged traffickers.
Police said surveillance of vehicles entering the district from the Odisha border had been intensified and their informer network activated as part of the drive against narcotics trafficking. The latest operation was carried out under the leadership of DIG and Jashpur Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Lal Umed Singh, with guidance from Additional SP Rakesh Kumar Patanwar and supervision by DSP Shubham Tiwari and SDOP Kunkuri Vinod Kumar Mandavi.
Jashpur police said an end-to-end investigation was being conducted to identify all those involved in the trafficking network. Dr Singh said the personnel involved in the operation would be rewarded with cash incentives.
