Mumbai: A truck carrying steel pipes was allegedly being used to smuggle 500kg of cannabis worth around ₹ 5 crore when the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) intercepted it in Nagpur on Sunday and arrested three men linked to an inter-state drug trafficking network.
A search revealed 500kg of cannabis concealed among steel pipes. NCB officers tracked the movement and laid a trap in Nagpur. Following the interrogation of the two men, the NCB arrested Yusuf, who was allegedly waiting to receive the consignment. The agency has made several large ganja seizures in Maharashtra in recent months.
On April 11, it seized 209.85kg in Nagpur and arrested four people, including two alleged local receivers. On May 22, 702kg was seized in Gondia, with two alleged traffickers arrested. On June 30, the agency seized another 245kg in Bhandara and arrested two alleged drug operatives, including a Nagpur-based receiver.
An NCB official said Yusuf had allegedly been involved in drug trafficking for four to five years and had faced cases registered by the police under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act). “All the three persons were arrested and efforts are being made to apprehend other drug associates,” the official said. Early on Sunday, they intercepted the West Bengal-registered truck with Goldar and Sarkar inside.
