Daijiworld Media Network - Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur, Jun 15: In a significant blow to an interstate drug trafficking network, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) jointly seized 124 kilograms of ganja from a courier company's warehouse in Varanasi and arrested a suspected trafficker, officials said on Monday.
The operation was conducted on Sunday after authorities received specific intelligence inputs under the Central government's nationwide "Drug-Free India" campaign championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
According to officials, the illegal consignment was discovered inside a courier godown located in Jagatpur, under the Rohania police station limits of Varanasi district.
Investigators revealed that the smugglers had attempted to conceal the narcotics by attaching silk saree labels to the packets and preparing fake receipts carrying fabricated names and addresses to avoid raising suspicion during transit.
Preliminary findings indicate that the consignment originated in Assam and was being transported to Ranipur in Uttar Pradesh's Mau district. Officials said the accused exploited courier services as a cover to move the narcotics undetected across state borders.
A case has been registered under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. The arrested individual is currently being interrogated, while investigators are working to trace other members of the trafficking network and establish the complete supply chain.
The latest operation follows another major success earlier this month, when the NCB's Gorakhpur unit and the Uttar Pradesh STF seized over 406 kilograms of ganja in Deoria district and arrested four alleged traffickers. That consignment had also reportedly originated in Assam and was intended for distribution across eastern Uttar Pradesh.
Authorities said these actions are part of an intensified anti-narcotics drive being carried out across the state. In recent months, law enforcement agencies have conducted several major operations, including the seizure of large quantities of ganja in Rae Bareli and the arrest of three suspected traffickers.
In a separate operation in Sultanpur in April, officials recovered more than 1.5 tonnes of ganja from a truck and detained two accused persons.
Multiple crackdowns in districts such as Lucknow, Ghaziabad and Noida have also led to the seizure of synthetic drugs and psychotropic substances, resulting in several arrests and the dismantling of interstate smuggling networks.
Officials said improved coordination between central and state enforcement agencies has considerably strengthened efforts to curb drug trafficking across Uttar Pradesh.
The NCB has appealed to the public to report any information related to narcotics smuggling through the MANAS National Narcotics Helpline (1933), assuring citizens that the identity of informants will be kept strictly confidential.