Bhubaneswar: City police’s special crime unit on Saturday unearthed the illegal activity of several betel shopowners selling cannabis (ganja) packed in cigarettes. During surprise raids, the special team apprehended multiple shopowners and consumers for the illegal practice. The discovery follows the excise department’s seizure of country liquor being sold in soft drink bottles on Friday. In the past two days, cops have seized 800 grams of brown sugar in the city.
“The raids are part of an ongoing campaign to curb illegal drug trade in the city. We will nip the trade in the bud to ensure a safe and peaceful city. The effort is to ensure a reform by cutting the manufacturing and supply chain of contraband. The addicts of such substances will be transformed gradually,” said commissioner of police S Dev Datta Singh.
Sources said the practice of selling cannabis in cigarettes has been going on in the city for a long time, and the consumers are mostly youths, particularly students and professionals. “Paan shopkeepers, in fact, lure the youths with cannabis cigarettes, and once they get a feel, they get hooked to it. Other items in paan shops are just an eyewash. The shopowners mostly earn from selling ganja. They sell a ganja cigarette between Rs 20 and Rs 50, considering its size and quantity of cannabis,” said a police officer.
He said paan shop owners are selling cigarettes that contain banned cannabis. “A country liquor manufacturing unit was also busted in Sashtri Nagar area,” a senior police officer said. The special unit caught many shops and consumers while conducting surprise raids. The special crime unit has gathered data about the clandestine operation of ganja sales on different pretexts, the sources said.
Police said it highlights the evolving tactics of drug peddlers who are finding innovative ways to distribute contraband substances. The crackdown will continue to stop the illegal contraband distribution once and for all, police said.
Earlier, emphasising zero tolerance, the excise department has tightened its stance against illegal liquor trade to check the sale of unauthorised country liquor. The department has formed several squads to keep an eye on illegal activities and country liquor preparation.