Nuh Police seizes cannabis worth ₹1 crore from a vegetable truck

The Nuh Police, on Tuesday, seized 823 kilograms of cannabis (locally known as ganja), worth ₹1 crore in the international market, from a moving vegetable truck

The Nuh Police, on Tuesday, seized 823 kilograms of cannabis (locally known as ganja), worth ₹1 crore in the international market, from a moving vegetable truck in Pinagwan, Nuh.

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According to the police, there has been a spurt in drug smuggling since lockdown and the police so far have recovered drugs worth ₹2 crore in the last three months across the district.

According to the police, the cannabis was being transported in a truck from Odisha and was on its way to Alwar in Rajasthan. Truck driver Sahil, a resident of Rajasthan, has been arrested and is presently being interrogated by the police.

During interrogation, he allegedly told the police that he has been working as a driver with a transport company for the last two years. Three months ago, he came in contact with some people of his village who used to sell ganja and used to smuggle it to states such as Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana. They lured him to smuggle it from Odisha to different parts of Rajasthan, by promising him ₹40,000 per trip.

Last week, he was given advance of ₹20,000 and was asked to drive a vegetable truck, with cannabis hidden in it, to Alwar. He was told to deliver the consignment to a drug peddler in Alwar, after which he would drive back the empty truck to another location in Nuh, from where he would load spices.

“The contraband substance was to be handed over to a peddler in Alwar but the crime investigation agency (CIA) team intercepted the truck at Pinagwan after receiving a tip-off, The police recovered the cannabis from 26 sacks. There were two drivers out of which one fled from the spot,” Narender Bijarnia, the superintendent of police, Nuh, said.

An FIR has been registered at the Pinagwan police station under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and the accused have been remanded to judicial custody, the police said.

Bijarnia said, “We have adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards drug trafficking in the district. The main reason behind the spurt in the drug peddling cases is the rise in demand. After the relaxations in the lockdown norms, the demand has increased and therefore drug peddlers are more active nowadays. However, crime units and police teams are working very hard to nab the peddlers and the middlemen involved in the trade.”