The city police have busted a smuggling racket allegedly operated by a woman from Odisha, who allegedly exploited loopholes in a newly launched shipping company to transport cannabis in different states. One of her parcels, containing 7.95 kg of cannabis, was intercepted before it could be delivered in Haibowal, Ludhiana.
The accused has been identified as Phulsi Devi of Odisha. She is the owner of a firm, St. Meirj Logistics. The police have also booked Raj Kumar of Haibowal.
According to the police, the woman had booked nine separate courier shipments to locations in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. Acting on a tip-off, the police seized one parcel in Ludhiana. The matter came to the fore after Mohit Gour, manager of a shipping company based in New Delhi, filed a complaint. Earlier, the Odisha police had intercepted another parcel containing cannabis, leading to an investigation that linked the shipment to Phulsi Devi. The company then checked its records and found that she had sent a total of nine parcels, one of which had already reached Ludhiana.
Inspector Balwinder Singh, station house officer of the Shimlapuri police station, said a staffer from the shipping company informed about the suspicious parcel. Upon inspecting the shipment in Ludhiana, we recovered 7.95 kg of cannabis. Further investigation revealed the delivery address in Haibowal was fake.
{{/usCountry}}Inspector Balwinder Singh, station house officer of the Shimlapuri police station, said a staffer from the shipping company informed about the suspicious parcel. Upon inspecting the shipment in Ludhiana, we recovered 7.95 kg of cannabis. Further investigation revealed the delivery address in Haibowal was fake.
{{/usCountry}}The inspector also explained how the smuggling ring took advantage of the company’s processes. “The shipping company also operates an e-commerce platform and while parcels related to their e-commerce orders were scanned, those from private clients, like those sent by Phulsi Devi, were not properly checked. This loophole was exploited for drug smuggling.”
The police are now investigating the involvement of more people in this smuggling network and are working with Odisha authorities to track down additional shipments. Officials are also probing whether any more parcels linked to this operation have already been delivered undetected.
The inspector added that more important information has been expected from the accused during questioning. An FIR under Sections 20 (B) (II)C and 29 of the NDPS ACT has been lodged against the accused.