Bhubaneswar: The Special Task Force (STF) of the Odisha Crime Branch has secured the conviction of an accused in a major interstate ganja trafficking case involving the seizure of 1,010 kg of cannabis, with a Bhubaneswar court sentencing him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The judgment was delivered on Wednesday by the Court of the 1st Additional Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge, Bhubaneswar, in connection with STF Police Station Case No. 13 of 2022.
The convicted accused, identified as Rajesh Singh, was found guilty of possessing and transporting a commercial quantity of ganja under Sections 20(b)(ii)(C) and 29 of the NDPS Act. Besides the prison term, the court imposed a fine of Rs. 1 lakh. In default of payment, he will have to undergo an additional six months of rigorous imprisonment.
According to the STF, the case originated from specific intelligence inputs about an interstate narcotics network transporting a large consignment of ganja from Odisha’s Ganjam district to Bihar using a specially modified Hywa truck. Acting on the information, STF personnel intercepted the vehicle near Dumuduma Crossing on National Highway-16 in Bhubaneswar on June 3, 2022.
During the search, officers recovered 1,010 kg of ganja concealed inside a secret chamber specially built into the truck. The subsequent investigation revealed that the contraband was being moved through an organised interstate trafficking network with links in Odisha and Bihar.
The investigation was conducted by then STF Inspectors Ashok Kumar Giri, now serving as ACP, Zone-6, Cuttack Urban Police District, and Dipti Ranjan Pradhan, who is currently an Inspector with the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Bhubaneswar.
The STF said the trial was closely monitored by its Investigation Cell under the supervision of Additional SP Sanjeev Satpathy, DSP Pradipa Kumar Rout and Inspector Arun Kumar Nayak. The agency also acknowledged the role of Special Public Prosecutor Rashmi Ranjan Brahma for effectively presenting the prosecution’s case before the court.
With this verdict, the STF has secured its sixth conviction of 2026 and has maintained a 100 per cent conviction rate in all cases decided during the year, according to the official statement.
