Man held with 6.5 kg cannabis in Himachal Pradesh

A man allegedly trying to smuggle 6.5 kg of cannabis in Himachal Pradesh was arrested from a bus crossing the state borders, the police said on Tuesday.

A man allegedly trying to smuggle 6.5 kg of cannabis in Himachal Pradesh was arrested from a bus crossing the state borders, the police said on Tuesday.

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A police team stopped the bus headed from here to Chandigarh Monday near Dharampur on the Shimla-Kalka national highway, some 65 km from Shimla.

On seeing the police, one of the passengers, Atma Ram, panicked and tried to flee but was caught. He was carrying cannabis in the form of soap cakes in a bag, police said.

"The contraband is estimated at Rs.650,000 in the international market," said Shiv Pal Singh Verma, Solan district police chief.

Atma Ram had procured the contraband from the Kullu valley. Hemp, the source of the drug, grows in the wild in the valley.