Image used for representation.
SAMBALPUR: Excise officials of Sambalpur have arrested at least 82 people involved in around 50 cases of illegal transportation of ganja in about a year. Over 17 quintal of the contraband besides 33 vehicles have been seized during the period. Officials sources revealed that the combined value of the seized ganja and vehicles is over Rs 3.38 crore. The accused were arrested from Sambalpur while they were transporting cannabis from Kandhamal, Boudh and Sambalpur districts.
“Ganja is generally transported to Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand from Kandhamal and Boudh districts via Sonepur. Our teams are regularly raiding the vehicles especially those with registration numbers from other states including Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh,” said deputy Excise commissioner, north division Rajendra Bhotra.
Bhotra appealed locals to refrain from getting involved in illegal ganja trade Last month, Excise commissioner Ashis Kumar Singh held a meeting where Excise superintendents of 11 districts participated. Apart from discussing measures to check illegal transportation of ganja, a directive was issued to intensify patrolling and vehicle checking to curb the illegal trade.
