Ganjam (Odisha) – In a significant strike against the growing menace of drug trafficking, police in Ganjam district have arrested six people, including five women, for smuggling ganja aboard a passenger bus on Thursday night. The accused were intercepted near College Chhak under Kotinada police limits while travelling from Aska to Kodala.
Acting on a tip-off, the Kotinada police team tracked the movement of the gang suspected to be using women as unsuspecting couriers to dodge security checks. A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of approximately 63 kilograms of ganja. All the arrested individuals hail from Kandhamal district, though their names have not been made public yet.
Police officials revealed that the gang had been using women to exploit the social perception that female passengers are less likely to be thoroughly checked. The incident has raised alarms over the increasing role of women being drawn—either forcibly or strategically—into illegal drug trade networks.
This arrest comes just three days after a similar operation in Kalahandi district, where excise officials seized a large quantity of ganja from a government-run bus. In that case, one person was arrested while his accomplice escaped during a surprise raid at Jaipatna.
With multiple busts within days, authorities believe that inter-district and inter-state trafficking of cannabis is being handled by a well-coordinated network. Investigations are currently underway to uncover the wider web of operations behind these smuggling attempts.
