Balangir police busted a cannabis-smuggling operation that used courier services and arrested seven people.[1] Acting on intelligence inputs, officers raided a lodge near the railway station area and arrested seven people, including two alleged masterminds from the M. Rampur belt of Kalahandi district.[1] Police named Chandrakanta Tandi and Bimal Tandi of Singhpur village under M. Rampur as the principal accused, and also arrested Jagatram Tandi, Pradeep Suna, Ratna Bhoi, Chhabilal Dharua and Tarachand Tandi.[1] Police arrested seven men and seized 113 kg of ganja hidden in saree boxes as they were on their way to the nearest logistics centre.[2]
Police seized 113 kg of ganja, two cars and nine mobile phones.[1] The ganja was recovered from 10 boxes weighing a total of 113 kg.[3] Police intercepted the accused travelling in two vehicles and seized a Hyundai Creta and a Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire.[3] A case has been registered at Adarsha Police Station and the accused have been produced in court.[1]
The smugglers used an e-commerce company’s courier network to send ganja from western Odisha to New Delhi and the NCR region.[1] The accused registered with the e-commerce company as a saree centre and handed over ganja boxes at the Balangir point shown as household appliances and other goods.[1] The courier point had no scanner, and only the QR code on consignments was scanned before dispatch.[3] Investigators allege the group sourced ganja from Kandhamal, packed it in Mohangiri, moved it to Balangir and dispatched it to Ghaziabad.[1] Delhi-Ghaziabad handlers had earlier trained Kalahandi businessmen and helped them start the trade.[1] The cover was an online registration as Sambalpuri Saree Centre, CCTV allegedly showed similar bookings at least four times in about six months, and police questioned the e-commerce company’s Odisha head and searched the Balangir facility.[1] Further investigation is underway to identify receivers in Ghaziabad and remaining supply-chain links.[1]
