India News | 4 Inter-state Ganja Smugglers Held in UP's Basti, over 1 Quintal of Cannabis Seized
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Four inter-state ganja smugglers were arrested in Uttar Pradesh's Basti district in a joint operation conducted by the Lalganj Police and the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, officials said on Tuesday.
Basti, May 13 (PTI) Four inter-state ganja smugglers were arrested in Uttar Pradesh's Basti district in a joint operation conducted by the Lalganj Police and the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team, officials said on Tuesday.
The accused were caught with a massive consignment of 1 quintal and 30 kilograms of illegal ganja, an unlicensed pistol and revolver along with live cartridges, and Rs 1,08,950 in cash, they said.
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Authorities also recovered an EcoSport car and a truck used in the smuggling operation, they said.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhinandan informed media persons during a press conference on Tuesday that the key accused, Hanuman Prasad Yadav, is a resident of Jaunpur district and has a criminal record in several districts including Mirzapur, Varanasi, and Sonbhadra.
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The other three arrested individuals have been identified as Shyam Raj from Chandauli, and Suraj Chaudhary and Shahid Ali from Lalganj in Basti district, he said.
According to the SP, the arrests are a significant breakthrough against an inter-state drug trafficking syndicate operating in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
He said that a detailed investigation has been launched to identify both large-scale suppliers and local-level peddlers associated with the network.
Police are preparing a list of individuals involved in the ganja trade at various levels, and stringent legal action will be initiated under the Gangsters Act and the National Security Act (NSA), wherever applicable.
The administration also plans to confiscate properties acquired through proceeds of narcotics smuggling, he said.
For their role in the successful operation, Lalganj Station House Officer Shashank Shekhar Rai and SWAT team in-charge Santosh Kumar, along with their teams, have been rewarded with Rs 25,000 by the SP.
A case has been registered against the accused under relevant sections at the Lalganj police station, and further legal proceedings are currently underway.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)