80 lakh ganja from Odisha reached Howrah; 4 arrested

In a recent development, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Howrah Police Commissionerate has successfully arrested four smugglers with a massive haul of 637.800 kg of ganja.

The arrest was made in front of Jagachha Block General Office (BGO) under the Lilua police station.

According to reports, the recovered ganja is valued at around Rs 80 lakh in the international market. The CID, in a statement issued on Friday morning, identified the four arrested individuals as Babu Paul (55) from Howrah, Vishwajit Giri (24) from Khurda district of Odisha, Prashant Patra (39) also from Odisha, and Govind Sao (30) from Puri.

The CID team had received concrete information regarding the smuggling operation, which led them to lay a cordon on the high road in front of Jagacha BDO office on Thursday night. A white Scorpio and Bolero were stopped and subsequently searched.

The search revealed the massive quantity of ganja, which was found in both the vehicles and Babu Pal's Howrah godown. A total of 488.800 kg of ganja was seized from the godown, while the remaining 237 kg of ganja was recovered from the vehicles.

The accused individuals have been booked under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, and further investigations are currently underway.

This successful operation by the CID is a significant blow to the drug smuggling network in the region, and it highlights the law enforcement agencies' continued efforts to curb drug trafficking and related activities.