At Cuttack railway station, the Railway Protection Force arrested two young men from West Bengal under Operation Narcos, foiling an alleged interstate ganja smuggling attempt.[1] The check took place at about 11:05 am on 10 November during a drive against suspicious activity at the station.[1] RPF officers of Cuttack post with the Mancheswar dog squad saw the two in suspicious circumstances at the Bhadrak end of platforms two and three.[1] The pair were waiting to board a Kerala-bound train with three new grey, purple and maroon bags bearing an Ayesha logo.[1] They tried to flee on seeing the RPF team but were chased and caught, the bags gave off a strong ganja smell, and trained narcotics detection dog Jackson also indicated cannabis.[1]
A search of the three bags found 30 packets wrapped in brown cello tape, which an NDPS test kit and weighing confirmed as 28.8 kg of ganja.[1] The RPF put the estimated value of the seized 28.8 kg of ganja at 1,444,000 rupees.[1] The two were identified as 26-year-old Nirash Sheikh and 19-year-old Tanmay Sheikh of Natun Bamanabad, Kazipara under Sagarpara police station in Murshidabad district, who said they work at a marble factory in Aluva, Kerala.[1]
They allegedly were engaged by a man named Suman Sheikh alias Tony to carry the consignment from Cuttack to Aluva, with each promised 20,000 rupees.[1] According to the accused, the bags were handed to them by an unidentified man who came in a red car near the Clock Tower-Ranihat Chhak in Cuttack.[1] The RPF informed the Cuttack GRP station in-charge and an NCB officer in Bhubaneswar, then handed the accused and the seized ganja to the Cuttack Sadar excise department for further action.[1] Excise inspector K. L. Paikaray registered a case under section 20(b)(ii)(C) of the NDPS Act, 1985 on 10 November, and both accused were produced in court on 11 November and sent to 14 days of judicial custody.[1]
