Bhubaneswar: The Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha Crime Branch Friday claimed to have busted an inter-state cannabis smuggling syndicate with the arrest of four persons, including its alleged kingpin, in Nayagada district following a month-long intelligence-driven operation.
The accused were identified as Durbasa Sahu, 46, the alleged mastermind; Subudhi Sahu, 40; Arun Kumar Rana, 34; and Prakash Khatua, 35. All are residents of Boudh district, police said. According to a statement issued by the STF, the arrests were made under ‘Operation Green Clean’, a month-long intelligence-driven operation carried out across Boudh, Kandhamala and Subarnapur districts to crack down on the interstate cannabis smuggling syndicate operating from the state with links to Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and West Bengal.
The breakthrough came after the STF recovered 190 kg of cannabis from a cashew plantation near Athagada in Kataka district Wednesday. “Soon, a probe was launched, and officials found that the delivery agent had been given half of a torn Rs 10 currency note and instructed to hand over the contraband only to a person carrying the matching half of the note,” the statement said.
Acting on specific intelligence inputs Friday morning, multiple STF teams launched a coordinated operation and arrested all four accused, including the alleged mastermind, while they were travelling in a vehicle near Pichukuli on the Nayagada-Khordha stretch of NH-57, officials said.
Preliminary investigation revealed that Durbasa headed the cannabis smuggling syndicate operating from Odisha, with sup ply networks extending to several states, an STF official said. The official said a financial investigation would also be conducted to trace the syndicate’s money trail.
The STF will seek seven days’ police remand of the accused to facilitate custodial interrogation and establish the backward and forward linkages of the interstate network.
