Rajkot: The Rajkot City Special Operations Group (SOG) busted an interstate drug trafficking network with the seizure of nearly 204 kg of cannabis worth over Rs 1.04 crore from a truck that had arrived from Odisha.The seizure was effected near Bamanbore on the Rajkot-Ahmedabad highway.Police arrested truck driver Mahmad alias Kalo and helper Arbaaz Sandhi. The suspected main supplier and the intended receiver of the consignment are yet to be arrested.Rajkot joint commissioner of police Chaitanya Mandlik said the SOG had been tracking the suspected drug network for nearly 19 days following a tip-off.The truck was carrying steel pipes, apparently to camouflage the illegal consignment. During a search, officers found several multi-coloured bags concealed behind the legitimate cargo. The bags contained suspected cannabis, which was subsequently confirmed through forensic examination.During interrogation, the arrested men revealed that the consignment had been loaded in Odisha by Amit alias Gurkha, who reportedly stays near Hadala village on Morbi Road in Rajkot. The consignment was to be delivered to Ramiz alias Maya, a resident of Jangleshwar, for distribution across Saurashtra.Police found that the network had adopted several measures to evade detection. Amit rented a house in Odisha and stayed there for 15 to 20 days during each trip instead of using hotels. The contraband was procured from forest areas of Balangir in Odisha, packed into parcels and hidden behind steel pipes transported with valid bills.Investigators said Amit travelled to Odisha on July 29, following which SOG teams tracked the movement of the vehicle through Nagpur and Surat before intercepting it after it entered Rajkot jurisdiction.A case has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at the Airport Police Station, while further investigation has been handed over to the Rajkot City Crime Branch.
