327kg ganja smuggled from Nepal seized in Maharajganj

Lucknow: Around 327Kg ganja (contraband) being smuggled from Nepal into India was seized in UP’s Maharajganj on Monday after a joint team of SSB and excise department intercepted a truck following a brief chase on the Indo-Nepal border.

The accused truck driver has been arrested.The seizure was made in the Thoothibari-Sonauli border belt following intelligence inputs that a Haryana-registered truck was transporting a large consignment of cannabis from Kathmandu in the vehicle’s cabin.A joint team of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and the excise department, led by Inspector Subhash Chandra, launched a coordinated surveillance along the Sonauli route.

In the early hours of Monday, the suspect truck crossed into Indian territory. On noticing heightened security presence, the driver allegedly attempted to speed away but was intercepted near Chakrar village in Bargadwa.Sleuths recovered 21 tightly packed bundles of ganja concealed in the truck’s cabin. Each bundle weighed around 16kg, bringing the total seizure to 327kg.The accused driver, Ranjeet Giri (37) of West Champaran district in Bihar, was produced before a local court which sent him into judicial custody.

Authorities seized both the truck and the contraband before handing them over to Bargadwa police.Circle Officer Anirudh Kumar said the operation was part of an ongoing campaign against illegal narcotics smuggling and termed it a “major success” in curbing cross-border drug networks. A case has been registered under relevant provisions of the NDPS Act.Officials said further investigation is underway to trace the source and destination of the consignment, identify other members of the trafficking network, and ascertain whether the accused is linked to a larger interstate or international smuggling syndicate.