Odisha police seize Rs 75 lakh cash from ganja peddler's house

Bhubaneswar, Feb 13 The Odisha Commissionerate Police has seized Rs 75.20 lakh cash and gold ornaments during a raid at the house of a ganja peddler in Cuttack, the police said on Saturday.

After receiving reliable information, a joint team of the special squad and Badambadi police had conducted a raid near Link Road in Cuttack on Friday and recovered 20 kg ganja from the possession of Narayan Pati and his associate Abakash Swain, said Cuttack DCP, Prateek Singh.

Both the accused have been arrested, he added.

The police searched the house Narayan Pati and recovered Rs 75.20 lakh in cash and gold ornaments weighing about 80 grams. During investigation, Pati confessed that the recovered cash is the sale proceeds of marijuana.

The DCP informed that Pati was under the scanner of his team since he was involved in illegal narcotics trade over the past several years.

Though Pati was arrested five-six times in the past, he managed to secure bail in each case as he was arrested with small quantity of ganja, Singh said.

But this time, he (Pati) has been nabbed with 20 kg of ganja, for which strong punishment provision is there under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, said the Cuttack DCP.

Singh further stated that he will inform the Enforcement Directorate and the Income Tax Department as a huge amount of cash has been recovered in this case.