The Narcotics Control Bureau on Thursday (June 30) seized 54 kilograms of cannabis, worth Rs 84 lakh, and arrested two accused who were allegedly delivering it for distribution among street peddlers in Maharashtra and nearby areas.
According to NCB officials, the accused are part of an inter-state syndicate that had despatched an urgent supply consignment of cannabis for some local drug peddlers.
NCB officials received a tip-off about the same and worked on it, after which a trap was laid at the Solapur - Pune highway and an SUV was intercepted.
“During a search of the vehicle, 27 boxes were found concealed in false cavities made beneath its rear seat. Upon closer examination, the boxes were found to contain a total of 54 kgs of cannabis. Both the occupants of the car were immediately arrested and the car and the drugs were seized,” said Amit Ghawate, Zonal Director, NCB Mumbai.
Questioning of the duo has revealed that the cannabis had come from the Ganjam district in Odisha to be supplied to local peddlers based in Mumbai, Surat and other nearby areas, officers said.
“Both the accused are from Odisha and were identified to be seasoned traffickers who had supplied contraband in the region many times in the recent past. The duo also disclosed that they had further plans to supply drugs to other areas of Maharashtra and states like Gujarat and Goa. They were quite familiar with tactics used for evading law enforcement checkpoints,” an NCB officer said.
