Jabalpur police arrested two suspected smugglers, including the container driver, and seized a large consignment of cannabis.[1] The operation was carried out around 2 am on Saturday 31 October 2026 by a joint team of the Jabalpur Crime Branch and Gosalpur police, with help from the Narcotics Wing in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh.[1] The two were identified as 45-year-old Dharamveer Singh of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, and 24-year-old Vikram Karmakar of South Dinajpur, West Bengal.[1]
Officers found 28 sacks concealed among 412 paint cans inside the container.[1] The sacks contained packets of cannabis wrapped in khaki-coloured tape.[1] The cannabis weighed 871 kg 95 g, and police put its market value at ₹4 crore 35 lakh 55 thousand, or about ₹4.35 crore.[1] The container had a Nagaland registration number, police said.[2]
A police team patrolling National Highway 30 in the Gosalpur police station area noticed the container speeding near the Muskhara turn.[1] Police followed the vehicle and intercepted it after setting up a blockade near the Mohtra toll plaza.[1] The driver and the other man tried to flee but were caught, police said.[2] The Uttar Pradesh Narcotics Wing team from Jhansi had been tracking the container and reached the spot around the same time, he said.[2]
Police registered a case against the accused under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.[1][3] Singh allegedly told police that he had brought the consignment to Madhya Pradesh at the direction of Prabhat Sahu, a resident of Balangir in Odisha.[1] The consignment was to be unloaded near a Jio petrol pump before reaching Maihar, he said.[1] The 28 sacks were loaded into the container at Sahu’s location on 27 October.[1] Singh said he was promised ₹1 lakh for the trip.[1] The accused told police they had earlier transported cannabis consignments to Madhya Pradesh at Sahu’s behest.[2] They were paid ₹1 lakh for each consignment, according to police.[2] Investigators were working to identify other people connected with arranging, transporting and delivering the consignment.[1][3]
The Jhansi unit of Uttar Pradesh’s Anti Narcotics Task Force took part in the operation under its in-charge, Chandan Pandey.[3] Questioning indicated the ganja was supplied in Uttar Pradesh as well as Madhya Pradesh.[3]
