Varanasi: A joint team of the Robertsganj police and the Lucknow unit of the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) busted an inter-state ganja smuggling network and arrested six alleged traffickers, recovering over eight quintals of cannabis valued at around Rs 80.6 lakh.Investigators also learned that the network used the Agra-Lucknow Expressway to transport consignments to the Taj City, from where they were distributed to buyers.The contraband, which was being transported from Odisha to Uttar Pradesh, was concealed among sacks of herbs in a DCM vehicle intercepted near the Chahelwa Baiju Baba Temple under the Robertsganj police station limits.The arrested accused were identified as Ankit Singh (30), Rohit Kumar Singh (35), Sohit Singh (23), Devendra Singh (40), and Siddharth Singh (23), all residents of Sultanpur district, and Suraj Kumar (28), a resident of Amethi district.According to police, the ANTF’s Lucknow unit received specific inputs on Sunday night about a large consignment of illegal ganja being transported from Odisha to Uttar Pradesh. Acting on the information, a joint team of the ANTF and personnel from the Sukrit police post set up a checkpoint and intercepted a car and a DCM vehicle.During the search, police recovered 8 quintals and 684 grams of ganja hidden among sacks of herbs in the DCM vehicle.Based on the recovery, a case under Sections 8, 20, 29 and 60 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act was registered at the Robertsganj police station.Police seized the recovered contraband, the DCM vehicle, a car, six Android mobile phones, two iPhones and Rs 6,040 in cash.During interrogation, the accused allegedly admitted to being members of an organised inter-state drug trafficking network that had been sourcing ganja from Odisha and supplying it to Sultanpur and neighbouring districts for an extended period.Police said Ankit Singh and Rohit Kumar Singh allegedly operated the network, while Sohit Singh, Devendra Singh, Suraj Kumar and Siddharth Singh assisted with transportation, surveillance and distribution.The accused told investigators that the seized consignment had been purchased from the Balangir region of Odisha for around Rs 20 lakh.They further disclosed that the consignment was intended for delivery to one Atul Singh, a resident of Sitapur. The accused said they knew their Odisha-based supplier only by the alias “Dada” and communicated with him through WhatsApp.According to police, the gang frequently changed mobile numbers and SIM cards to evade detection.Sonbhadra SP Abhishek Verma said efforts were underway to identify and arrest other members linked to the network based on information obtained during the interrogation.
