Cannabis smuggling racket busted in Odisha, six held

The Excise and Narcotics Control Bureau officials Wednesday busted a cannabis smuggling racket in Odisha's Sambalpur district and arrested six people, including a woman, for their involvement in it, an official said.

The six were arrested after about 19 quintals of hemp worth Rs.1 crore were found in their houses at Bagabara village under Naktideula police station limits, about 200 km from state capital Bhubaneswar.

The hemp, locally known as ganja, was kept in separate bags. Some of it was in the form of finished products, district Excise Superintendent Gangadhar Sahu told IANS.

"We have registered ten cases against them. Five others involved in the racket are absconding. Efforts are on to nab them," he said.

The villagers illegally cultivate cannabis on forest land belonging to the government, and smuggle it out to other states, the excise superintendent explained.