Police in Shaktigarh market, in West Bengal’s Purba Bardhaman district, arrested one man and seized more than 2 kg of ganja in a raid on the night before the report was published.[1] Officers acted on a tip-off and cordoned off areas around Dalkhola and Shaktigarh before searching the main suspect.[1] Along with the ganja, police recovered an electronic weighing machine from the suspect.[1] The report says the machine indicated that goods were supplied retail and wholesale from the spot.[1]

The arrested man told police he had been in the trade for the past 8 to 10 years.[1] He said he brought the ganja in through Dalkhola, a town on the border with Bihar in Uttar Dinajpur district, and that consignments came via Odisha.[1] Initial inquiries found he bought ganja at about 18,000 rupees a kilogram and sold it at higher prices for a profit in the local market.[1]

Police said they had seized all the goods and were trying to identify the other people in the network and its main leader.[1] The report says investigators suspect a larger drug-trafficking gang stands behind the trade.[1]