Bangalore cop arrested in Odisha over cannabis smuggling charges

Kandhamal police said they arrested a constable under Bangalore police district while they were trying to transport dried cannabis flowers.

Updated on: Nov 5, 2023, 12:01:52 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Odisha Police have arrested a Karnataka police constable of the Bengaluru police and his three associates on charges of smuggling over 17.5 kg of cannabis.

They were arrested on Wednesday at a bus stop in Kandhamal, said police.

Kandhamal senior police officials said they arrested Anand K, a constable at Jigani police station under Bangalore police district, on November 1 along with three of his associates while they were trying to transport 17.5 kg of dried cannabis flowers to Berhampur town from a bus stop in the area.

Sarangagada police station officers were on patrolling duty near a bus stop when they saw four persons, including the police constable from Bangalore moving suspiciously with four bags, said Kandhamal superintendent of police (SP) Suvendu Patra said on Wednesday (Nov 1).

“When sub-inspector Basudev Sahu asked about the contents of the bags, they said they were from Kamataka Police and visited Kandhamal on special duty in connection with an investigation of an NDPS case. After searching, the bags were found to contain cannabis,” the SP said.

Constable Anand initially said he had come to seize more cannabis from the home of one of the accused, but he fled from their custody, said SP Patra, adding that the constable could not explain why he did not inform the local police station as per procedure.

When asked about why he was carrying 17.5 kg of cannabis, the constable claimed that the original seizure in the case was less than 5 kg, but they were trying to make the offence severe as the punishment is more in case of seizure is more than 20 kg, the SP said.

“In any case, planting of evidence is a crime,” he added.

During interrogation, it was revealed that the constable wanted to traffic the cannabis to Bangalore and sell it off at Rs.20-30,000 a kg while the same costs Rs.1000-2000 a kg in Odisha, police said.

In 2022-23, Odisha seized over 3,500 quintals of cannabis, its highest-ever seizure.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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