Over 14 quintals of cannabis sourced from Odisha seized in UP

Bhadohi (UP): Over 14 quintals of cannabis being brought in a private bus from Odisha was seized in Uttar Pradesh’s Bhadohi district and four people were arrested, police said on Sunday.

The seizure was made around 10:30 pm on Saturday by officials from the Kotwali police station and the district unit of the crime branch on inputs from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), they said.

Cannabis worth Rs 1.52 crore was seized by them. The consignment was supposed to be delivered in nearby Azamgarh district in eastern Uttar Pradesh, police said.

“Based on the inputs, the bus, which is registered in Andhra Pradesh, was intercepted and over 14 quintals of cannabis found in it. Four people, including the driver of the bus, were arrested. The cannabis is pegged at Rs 1.52 crore,” Additional Superintendent of Police, Bhadohi, Ravindra Kumar Verma said.

“They had picked up the cannabis from Odisha and it was meant to be delivered in Azamgarh. The accused do not know the specific person to whom it was to be delivered,” Verma said.

The cannabis was stocked in 47 sacks, each further containing six packets, he said. The bus driver told the police that they were working for an Andhra Pradesh-based man K Raju. They were told to reach Azamgarh and then call him up after which he would have told them the exact place and person for delivery, police said.

The bus, which is worth over Rs 50 lakh, has been impounded and it belongs to their handler K Raju, they added. Those arrested have been identified as driver Shyam Sundar, Manohar Sona, Sadhu Kumar and Diwakar Bahera. All of them are natives of Malkangiri in Odisha.

On the mode of transport opted by the drug traffickers, the officer said they chose the bus in order to avoid suspicion considered such vehicles are chiefly used for tourists and passenger services.

“Smaller vehicles and cars usually come under police radar at police check posts,” he added. Verma said further probe is underway to unearth the drug trafficking network.

A case has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Act at a local police in Bhadohi.

The seizure comes within a fortnight of the UP Special Task Force (STF) busting another drug trafficking racket in Jhansi district of the state. The STF had seized 15 quintals of cannabis and arrested three people during the seizure on June 27.

(PTI)