State-origin ganja seized
Source: The Sangai Express
GUWAHATI, February 16, 2013:
Acting on a tip-off, police seized 11.5 quintals of ganja from a truck at Jorabat on the outskirts of the city on Friday morning.
The truck driver, Jogindar Paul, was arrested.
He hails from Himachal Pradesh.
"The seizure is worth some Rs 10 lakh.
The truck was on its way to West Bengal from Manipur.
A total of 180 bags of cement were used for concealment of the secret cham- ber; the cement bags were also seized.
A case is being registered at Basistha police station in this regard," said a policeman at Jorabat outpost.
The investigation once again brought to the fore the continued trafficking of narcotics and chemical drugs from Manipur to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh via West Bengal and vice-versa.
"There are two stretches that have been identified as the transit route for smuggling of drugs in the region.
One is the Manipur-Dimapur-Numaligarh road in Golaghat district, which connects the city via Tezpur, and the other is the Manipur-Jiribam-Silchar-Guwahati stretch which connects to NH-37," added the official.
According to sources, ganja is cultivated in a huge way in Manipur's Ukhrul district.
"Most of this ganja cultivation is backed by underground separatist groups.
They invest in cultivating the ganja and then sell it in other parts of the country.
The money is used in procuring arms and ammunition," said an official of the directorate of the revenue intelligence.
During the last 10 years, the DRI has seized more than 1 lakh kg of ganja from in and around the city.
In the last three years, officials seized 19,000 kg of ganja from the city area alone.
In the city, Lokhra and Amingaon have been identified as the spots where secret loading and unloading of ganja is carried out.