The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) carried out eight significant operations nationwide over the past fortnight, resulting in the seizure of roughly 740 kg of cannabis and charas and the arrest of 13 individuals, according to a Ministry of Finance statement on Wednesday.
The confiscated substances consisted of 709.6 kg of cannabis (ganja), 24.5 kg of high-grade hydroponic cannabis, and 5 kg of charas.
Acting on intelligence, DRI officers intercepted two trucks from Vishakhapatnam at Old Dhamtari Road near Raipur, uncovering 61 packets hidden in 10 sacks within the trucks' loading areas.
This led to the seizure of 375.95 kg of cannabis along with the vehicles and the arrest of four people under the NDPS Act, 1985.
Between September 5 and 6, DRI intercepted another truck on the Aurangabad–Patna Highway near Patna. During the operation, officers were attacked, causing injury to one while the driver fled. A search recovered 90 packets of ganja weighing 140.5 kg, and the truck was seized.
Earlier, on August 26, officers seized about 124 kg of cannabis from a truck near Raipur, resulting in one arrest.
September 3, DRI stopped three passengers traveling in the general compartment of the Amarnath Express at Gorakhpur Railway Station. A personal search found around 5 kg of charas concealed in knee-cap-like coverings around their thighs and hidden inside sarees.
Investigations revealed that the charas was smuggled from Nepal. The substance was seized and all three passengers were arrested under the NDPS Act, 1985.
Additionally, within the last 15 days, three passengers arriving from Hanoi, Vietnam, and Bangkok, Thailand, at Hyderabad and Bengaluru airports were detained, leading to the seizure of approximately 24.6 kg of high-potency cannabis.
