NCB arrests 3, seizes 370-kg cannabis in poll-bound Bihar

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested 3 people and seized 370 kgs of cannabis (ganja) in the poll-bound state of Bihar, officials said on Wednesday. The narcotics were seized from a truck in Bhagalpur district on Tuesday and the cannabis was hidden beneath a consignment of coconuts, the central probe agency said.

"One among the arrested is G K Sah, a resident of Madhubani district of the state, and he is a major ganja trafficker operating in north Bihar. He sources the narcotics from the illicit ganja production belt of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha border," NCB Deputy Director (operations), K P S Malhotra, said. The consignment was believed to be sourced from Vishakhapatnam and was on way to Madhubani, he added.

Polls for the 243-member Bihar assembly will be held in three phases-- October 28, November 3, and November 7-- and counting of votes will be held on November 10. The agency is probing the financial trail and other operatives in this case now, the officer said.

NCB officials say illegal cannabis cultivation in the country is largely concentrated around the Naxal violence affected border areas of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. Ganja from this region finds its way to all states like Delhi, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and even to Sri Lanka, NCB officials said.