Koraput: Nearly eight months after launching a manhunt, police managed to nab the kingpin of an inter-state ganja smuggling racket K Balaji
Krishna, 48, from
Jeypore in Koraput district on Wednesday night.
Police said they were tipped off about the presence of Krishna at one of his relative's home in
New Street of Jeypore and accordingly a plan was chalked out to arrest him.
"He was in our wanted list since long as he was the kingpin in smuggling ganja from the area to other states. He operates a well-organised inter-state gang of ganja smugglers and is in this trade for past 25 years," said SP (Koraput) Kanwar Vishal Singh.
Police seized a car, three mobile phones and Rs 7.20 lakh from Krishna.
According to police, the network of the accused is spread across Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharasthra, Uttar Pradesh, Telengana, Jharkhand and West Bengal, apart from several districts of Odisha.
"After procuring ganja from Lamatapur in Koraput district and Chitrakonda of bordering Malkangiri district, the accused supplies it to the ganja mafia based outside the state," said Nirmal Mohapatra, IIC, Jeypore Sadar police station Jeypore.
Police said Krishna was once arrested in 1995 on charges of smuggling ganja and awarded a three-years imprisonment by the then assistant sessions judge, Koraput, in 2000. However, he appealed against the lower court's verdict in the high court and the case is sub judice, police added.
In July 2017, at least eight members of his gang were arrested with three four-wheelers while transporting 76-kg ganja near Gurudaguda. "Since then we had been tracking the movement of Krishna," said Mohapatra.
"We are verifying whether he is involved in any case in other states and may bring him on remand for further interrogation," he added.
Tightening the noose around the ganja traders, the district police under its special drive launched against illegal ganja trade have arrested over 30 smugglers in past few months and seized several vehicles and a few quintals of the contraband. "Our drive against ganja trade in the region will be intensified in coming days," the SP said.
