Cuttack: In a crackdown on ganja peddling, Odisha excise officials on Friday seized Rs 80 lakh cash and detained one person during a crackdown near Tangi Toll gate in Cuttack.
According to sources, a team of excise officials of Cuttack conducted a raid near Toll Plaza at Tangi, suspecting ganja trafficking, and recovered Rs 80 lakh cash from a person, identified as Sukumar Sahoo. He was allegedly travelling in a private bus from Cuttack to West Bengal.
“One of my relatives gave me Rs 80 lakh to hand it over to a person in West Bengal,” the accused told media.
Meanwhile, Cuttack Sadar Inspector said that “We checked the private bus as a part of ganja crackdown and caught Sahoo with Rs 80 lakh cash wrapped in four paper packets.”
As per the preliminary investigation, Sahoo received the money from his brother-in-law, who is into jewellery business in Cuttack. Previously, the accused had visited twice with Rs 50 lakh and Rs 60 lakh cash, the police said.
Sahoo was detained for further investigation to ascertain whether he collected the amount after selling any banned contraband like ganja, brown sugar, or narcotic drugs.
