The officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) destroyed Cannabis illegally cultivated on 9.49 acres of land in Dhule district of north Maharashtra.

Acting on specific intelligence that illegal cultivation of Cannabis was being carried out in the villages of Khamkheda Ambe and Rohini in Dhule district, the DRI teams conducted surveillance of the remote area located along the Madhya Pradesh-Maharashtra border to zero in on the suspicious sites.

After the surveillance, officials from DRI (Mumbai) — accompanied by their counterparts from Pune and Nagpur — approached the district administration and the Judicial Magistrate.

In the presence of the Judicial Magistrate, seven sites covering a total area of 9.493 acres were found to be used for the illegal cultivation of Cannabis

“Drip irrigation was being employed on the sites to increase the yield, indicating a highly organised illicit cultivation operation. Further, gunny bags filled with dried Ganja were found lying in the fields. The measurement of the sites, along with geo-tagged photographs, was carried out in the presence of the Judicial Magistrate,” officials said. 

Subsequently, the land records for all seven sites were traced with the help of the district administration and it was found that the lands had been encroached upon and were being illegally used for the cultivation of Cannabis.

After an official sanction from the judicial magistrate, the DRI teams undertook a massive operation to destroy illegally cultivated Cannabis on 9.49 acres of land.      

“A total of 96,049 illegally cultivated Cannabis plants across 9.493 acres were uprooted and destroyed. Additionally, 420.39 kg of Ganja, recovered from the gunny bags lying in the fields, was also seized under the provisions of the NDPS Act, 1985,” the DRI officials said, Going by a conservative estimate, this operation has prevented approximately 10,000 kg of Ganja from entering the illicit market and contributing to its deleterious effects.

The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 makes it illegal for any person to cultivate, possess, sell, buy or consume narcotic and psychotropic substances. Violations of these provisions can result in severe fines and imprisonment of up to 20 years.