Headlines 11am
Phulbani, Mar 28: Excise officials on Sunday arrested four persons for allegedly transporting ganja in two separate vehicles in Odisha’s Kandhamal district and seized over 188 kg of ganja from their possession.
The arrested persons have been identified as Dillip kumar Behera and Jitendra Behera of Angul district and Pradeep Kumar Altia and Akash Kumar Chaudhary of the district headquarter town here.
Acting on a tip-off, the Excise officials intercepted two SUVs in which the accused persons were travelling in on Khajuriapada-Linepada road in the district in the wee hours of today.
During the search, the officials recovered 188 kg of ganja from the vehicles. They immediately seized the contraband and two SUVs.
Four persons were arrested as they failed to show any authentic documents for carrying the ganja weighing around 188 kg along with them, an official said.
The accused had procured the ganja from Kandhamal district and were transporting the contraband to the coastal districts in the State, he added.
“A case has been registered under NDPS Act and the accused persons will be forwarded to the court later in the day. Further investigation is underway,” officials said.
