Ganja worth Rs 80L seized in Rourkela

Rourkela: In a major crackdown on narcotics smuggling, Plantsite police on Tuesday arrested six persons for allegedly transporting 502.4 kg of ganja worth around Rs 80 lakh. The contraband was reportedly being taken to Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.Briefing the media, SP (Rourkela) Nitesh Wadhwani said the seizure was made during patrolling on the intervening night of Feb 16 and 17, when a team led by sub-inspector S Pradhan intercepted five vehicles (one SUV and four cars) at Bondamunda Road near Phatapipe in Shivsankar Nagar. The accused were allegedly carrying the ganja without any licence or authority, after procuring it from the Kandhamal–Boudh region.The six arrested have been identified as Gunanidhi Ghusi (36) and Kaushik Kumar Padhee (31), both from Jharsuguda district; and Sukhnath Oram (37), Rahul Kumar Sahu (25), Nikhil Ray (23) and Niraj Sonkar (24), all residents of Sundargarh district. Police have seized the five four-wheelers, eight mobile phones, and Rs 2,300 in cash from the accused.