13 kg ganja seized, 2 minors, uncle held

Bhopal: Crime Branch on Tuesday seized 13.07 kg of ganja (cannabis) from two juveniles and arrested their maternal uncle, who allegedly used them to transport and sell the contraband.

Police said the accused’s mother is already in jail in a narcotics case registered by the Crime Branch.Additional DCP (Crime) Shailendra Singh Chouhan said the action followed a tip-off that some persons were trying to sell ganja near the railway station. A special team laid a trap and detained two juveniles found carrying white plastic bags under suspicious circumstances.During questioning, the juveniles told police they had come to Bhopal with their maternal uncle, a resident of Kurwai Road in Mandi Bamora, Sagar district.

They alleged that their uncle handed them bags containing ganja and asked them to look for buyers while he stayed away. On searching the bags, police recovered 7.50 kg of ganja from one bag and 6.20 kg from the other, taking the total seizure to 13.07 kg. The contraband is estimated to be worth around Rs 2.75 lakh in the illegal market.

Police also seized an Android mobile phone from the juveniles for technical examination.

Based on the information provided by the minors, Crime Branch arrested their uncle. During interrogation, he allegedly confessed to procuring ganja from Odisha and supplying it in Bhopal, Mandi Bamora and nearby areas.Police said the accused admitted to repeatedly taking the juveniles to Odisha to procure ganja consignments and using them to transport and sell the contraband.Police also found that the accused’s mother had earlier been arrested by the Crime Branch in a ganja trafficking case and is currently lodged in jail. Police suspect that the mother-son duo had been operating an organised drug trafficking network.