Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh): Jabalpur police have busted a “Pushpa-style” drug smuggling attempt and seized around 20 kilograms of cannabis that was cleverly hidden inside an oil tanker on Thursday.
The drugs, estimated to be worth nearly ₹10 lakh in the international market. Those were recovered during a joint operation by the Crime Branch and Khitola Police Station police.
According to police, the smugglers tried to copy tricks often seen in the movie Pushpa, where illegal goods are transported in hidden compartments to avoid suspicion.
In this case, the accused used a blue diesel-petrol tanker (MP 18 H 5408), believing that such a vehicle would easily pass routine police checking.
Acting on tip-off
Additional SP (Crime) Jitendra Singh said that on April 8, 2026, the Crime Branch received information from a reliable informer that a tanker carrying a large quantity of narcotics was heading towards Jabalpur from the Shahdol side. Acting on the tip-off, a special team was formed and a checkpoint was set up on Pan Umariya Road near the electricity office.
Soon after, the suspected tanker arrived and police surrounded it.
During the search, officers found a secret compartment built inside the cabin. Inside it, they recovered a sack containing 20 packets of cannabis.
Three men present in the tanker were immediately detained. The driver, Devaraj Yadav (39) from Rewa district, is believed to be the main accused. The other two accused were identified as Mahendra Kumar Patel (34) from Shahdol district and Vinod Kumar Yadav (34) from Satna district.
Police suspect that the three were part of an interstate drug smuggling network and had been involved in cannabis trafficking for some time.
Other items seized
Apart from the drugs, police also seized two mobile phones, ₹700 in cash, and the tanker used in the smuggling operation. A case has been registered against the accused under the NDPS Act (Section 8/20).
Police are now investigating who is the supplier, from where the cannabis was brought from.
The three accused are currently in custody and are being questioned to uncover the wider drug network behind the operation.
