J’khand man arrested while illegally transporting ganja

Berhampur: Acting on a tip-off, excise personnel here on Sunday arrested a 35-year-old man from Jharkhand for illegal transportation of ganja.“Around 160kg of ganja, the car on which the contraband was being transported and a mobile phone, all worth around Rs 22 lakh, were seized,” Prabin Kumar Pradhan, excise superintendent (Berhampur), said.The accused was identified as Manoj Gosai of Banadag in Jharkhand’s Ranchi district. “Two others who accompanied Gosai in the vehicle managed to flee and a search operation for nabbing them is underway,” Pradhan added.Preliminary inquiry revealed that the contraband was being transported from Chandragiri area in Gajapati district to Ranchi via Berhampur when the excise personnel seized it. “We are also investigating the involvement of some other persons in the case,” Pradhan said.Gosai’s vehicle was stopped during patrolling in the area in the morning.It was the second major crackdown of excise personnel on illegal ganja transportation in Berhampur. On Friday, the sleuths of the intelligence and enforcement bureau of the excise department, seized around 150kg of ganja at Gunthubandh near Berhampur. The ganja was being transported in a car. The value of the seized contraband was around Rs 25 lakh, sources said.A 21-year-old man, identified as Kumar Pani of Chadiapada near Mohana in Gajapati district, was arrested. Two other persons, however, managed to escape.