The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in two separate operations have apprehended 12 men and seized around 1655.2 kg of Ganja within a week. The operations were carried out by the NCB in Bihar and Jharkhand.
In first operation, the NCB Patna unit acting on specific inputs seized 1400.200 Kg of Ganja at Didarganj Toll Plaza (Patna-Bakhtiyarpur Road NH-30) from a truck bearing Haryana Registration number.
“The consignment was believed to be sourced from Odisha and destined to Bihar. Two accused identified as N Singh, a resident of Barnala Punjab and A Kumar, a resident of Vaishali in Bihar have been arrested during the seizure,” said K P S Malhotra, the NCB Deputy Director, Operations.
Meanwhile, in another operation on July 14, the NCB team of Ranchi zone, seized 255 kg of ganja from Rampur, Namkum and nine men were arrested in connection with the seizure.
“The contraband was sourced from Odisha and was destined to Bihar. The traffickers used three vehicles to smuggle the contraband from Raigarha, Odisha to Vaishali, Bihar. A Maruti Alto car was used by the gang as a pilot vehicle to scout for police checking and enforcement activities on the road, while a Mahindra Xylo and a Mahindra Pick up van followed it was carrying Ganja,” said Malhotra.
“The NCB team which had inputs on the modus operandi and the vehicles used, successfully intercepted all the three vehicles and seized the contraband,” he said.
“A prospective success in busting this drug trafficking network operating out of Odisha would prove to be a major achievement in combating the menace of Ganja trafficking in not only in the region, but it’s a blow to the networks all over the country,” said the Deputy Director.
“The NCB has launched a systematic investigation in these cases with a special focus on the financial trail of this network, beyond that linkages are also being explored regarding the proceeds possibly going into anti-state activities especially in the Naxalite infested areas. It is noteworthy that illicit ganja cultivation is often known to occur in areas prone to insurgency/extremism,” the Deputy Director added.