SBI staff among two arrested for smuggling ganja in Odisha; Gun seized

Bhubaneswar: The Special Task Force (STF) of the Odisha Crime Branch arrested two persons, including an employee of the State Bank of India (SBI), over their alleged involvement in smuggling ganja.

The accused have been identified as Sushanta Kumar Sahoo, who works as Clerk-cum-Cashier at State Bank of India’s Kishore Nagar branch in Angul district, and Jugal Sahoo of the same area.

Acting on a tip-off regarding illegal transportation and possession of ganja, a team of the STF carried out a raid near Banka Palasa village under Kishore Nagar police limits in the district on March 21.

During search, ganja weighing 165 kg, one SBML gun, an SUV, a motorcycle and other incriminating materials were recovered and seized from the possession of the accused duo.

They failed to produce any document related to possession of ganja, for which the two were arrested and forwarded to the court.

A case under relevant sections of NDPS Act and Arms Act has been registered in this connection.

Since 2020, the STF in its special drive against narcotic drugs has seized more than 50 kg of brown sugar/ heroin and over 91 quintals of ganja/ marijuana. More than 130 drug dealers/ peddlers have been apprehended during the period.