Surat: Two men from Odisha were arrested by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of Surat City Police in Gujarat and over 20 kilograms of ganja valued at Rs 10 lakh seized from them during a special operation.
Acting on specific intelligence, an SOG team raided a house in Meena Nagar Co-operative Housing Society in the Chok Bazar area. The police arrested Kalucharan Mahanti, 31, and Jitu Pradhan, 21, both employed as zari workers and originally from Ganjam district of Odisha.
Police said they recovered 20kg of prohibited plant-based ganja worth Rs 10 lakh from the premises. Two mobile phones valued at Rs 25,000 were also seized, taking the total value of the confiscated property to Rs 10.25 lakh, IANS quoted Surat Police as saying.
The operation was carried out under the directions of Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot as part of the city’s “No Drugs in Surat City” campaign, which targets the illegal movement of narcotics into Surat from other states and aims to curb drug distribution among young people.
During questioning, the accused allegedly told investigators that they had obtained the ganja from a wanted suspect and were on their way to deliver the consignment to another wanted accused when they were intercepted by the SOG team.
A case has been registered at Chok Bazar Police Station under Sections 8(c), 20(b)(ii)(C) and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Police said further investigation is underway to identify and apprehend the absconding members of the alleged supply network.
