NCB seizes about 500 kg ganja hidden in steel pipes in Nagpur, three arrested
The Narcotics Control Bureau's Mumbai zonal unit busted an alleged inter-state ganja smuggling network, recovering the consignment from a truck near Hudkeshwar.
The Mumbai zonal unit of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has busted an alleged inter-state ganja smuggling network in Nagpur. About 500 kg of ganja, hidden inside steel pipes being brought to Nagpur from Odisha, has been seized.
Three people have been arrested. They are named as R.P. Golder, A. Sarkar and S.A.S. Yusuf alias Rajabhai. According to the NCB, the consignment was being brought from Sambalpur in Odisha and was allegedly meant to reach Indore.
The operation began with specific information. The NCB had learnt that two alleged smugglers from West Bengal were heading towards Nagpur with a large consignment of ganja. An NCB team then laid a trap in the city.
The operation took place in the early hours of Sunday on the Outer Ring Road in the Hudkeshwar area on the Nagpur-Bhandara route, near Mahadev Dhaba. The NCB stopped a suspicious commercial truck and searched it.
It is alleged that during the search officers found about 500 kg of ganja concealed among the steel pipes loaded on the truck. The unusual method of concealment was reportedly meant to evade investigating agencies' attention while carrying narcotics over a long route.
The NCB allegedly found that Yusuf, alias Rajabhai, who lives in Nagpur, was responsible for receiving the network's consignments. The agency said he is accused of being involved in drug trafficking for the past four to five years. Cases have been registered against him earlier under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Investigators suspect the smugglers deliberately took long and changing routes to avoid being caught.
The case has been registered at Hudkeshwar police station, but the NCB is conducting the investigation itself.
The agency has now intensified its probe. It is trying to identify the other alleged members of the network, financiers, transporters and local associates. Raids are also being conducted at suspected locations to find out where the consignment came from and who it was meant for.
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