Despite accounting for only around one-fourth of the total narcotic substances seized nationally, Odisha, however, sped fast to the country’s prime narco transit highway last year. Even, the National Capital Territory region sources its cannabis, hashish and to some extent opium requirement from Odisha. This eye-opening home-truth pops out towards the end of last year, when police there busted an inter-State drug trafficker gang by seizing 222 kg of cannabis worth Rs22 lakh sourced from Odisha.
Significantly, data available with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Bhubaneswar Sub-Zone shows a big jump in seizure of narcotics mainly cannabis in the State last year. When drugs seized in 2013 were mere 1,506 kg, the seizure quantity grew by nearly 17-times to touch over 26,430 kg in 2014 which is incidentally two-fifth of seized quantity in Delhi. Moreover, senior NCB officers here revealed that cannabis transit route from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh passes through Odisha border up to Andhra Pradesh. Existent of such a route became amply evident last month when a MP registered SUV carrying cannabis shipment was allegedly intercepted at midnight by locals in Jeypore and handlers were lynched, although for a different reason.
Though Nepalese cannabis forms around one-third of the Indian drug market, traffickers from Bihar to escape police net source cannabis, hashish (resinous product of cannabis) from Odisha for markets in NCR area, disclosed a NCB official. Incidentally, the arrested trafficker was from Bihar who used to fly from Delhi to Bhubaneswar to confirm, check and make payments for his shipment transported by road concealed in special-designed cabins in goods laden trucks, he added.
At the same time, disturbing truth for State is through these drug traffickers firearms business proliferates fast in Odisha and organised gangs mobilise easy money to fund their modus crime operandi, added NCB sources. Data with State police shows that around 30 odd crimes involving firearms were registered last year, almost all were by unlicenced firearms.
Police are also alarmed at the emerging challenge and had planned an intensive strategy to crack down the cannabis and opium cultivators by setting a clear target of 3,000 acres for the current year. However, the police have stumbled upon the fact that it’s not only inter-State drug trafficking but existence of inter-State drug producer racket too. The police have found clear leads that show traders from other States financing the local narcotic substance producers here, revealed ADGP Crime BK Sharma and added that clear instructions had been conveyed to bust the link.
Reports with NCB and State police indicate how State’s top industrial town of Angul is in drug mafia grip. While NCB officials intercepted a car to seize over 101 kg of cannabis, the State police and the Excise Department successfully destroyed over 1.82 lakh illicit opium plantations in Angul last year. It needs mentioning that Central Bureau of Narcotics (CBN) has not given licence to produce opium in Odisha.
With drug mafia eyeing Odisha to make their base, industry associations feel the State Government should set up special purpose police stations for narcotic substances like Jharkhand, which recorded far fewer seizures than Odisha last year.