Nagpur: Security agencies in Nagpur have intensified their crackdown on narcotics, busting multiple drug trafficking operations within a span of days and seizing over 58 kg of ganja, collectively worth more than Rs 17 lakh, officials said on Thursday.
In a major inter-state operation, Mankapur Police busted a drug trafficking racket in the early hours of Thursday and arrested four accused from Odisha, seizing 29.1 kg of ganja concealed in a specially fabricated hidden compartment of a car. The total value of the seized contraband, vehicle and mobile phones is estimated at Rs 12.02 lakh.
Gold Rate
09 Jan 2026
The action followed a tip-off during night patrolling when police noticed a white car (HR-29-AZ-4166) parked suspiciously in front of a wine shop at Farse Chowk. As officers approached the vehicle, one person fled while three occupants were detained. The arrested accused were identified as Balram Dhana Burdi (23), Pradeepkumar Shyamsundar Das (50) and Surendra Dhanraj Pujari (18), all residents of Koraput district, Odisha. The absconding accused, Jatin Madan Khillo (22) of Nandapur Medical Colony, Koraput, was later arrested near Hotel Delhi Darbar on Ring Road, Mankapur.
A thorough search revealed that the boot of the car had been tampered with by welding an iron sheet over the stepney cavity to create a concealed compartment. On breaking it open, police recovered 15 plastic packets of ganja weighing 29.1 kg. The ganja, the vehicle and three mobile phones were seized. Preliminary investigation suggests the accused were transporting the contraband for illegal sale to earn financial gains. A case has been registered at Mankapur Police Station under Sections 8(c), 20(b), 11(c) and 29 of the NDPS Act, and further investigation is underway to trace the supply chain and local links.
In a separate operation, the Railway Protection Force’s Crime Intelligence Branch (CIB) seized 5 kg of ganja at Nagpur Railway Station. During patrolling on Platform No. 3 after the arrival of Train No. 12994, CIB personnel intercepted a passenger whose behaviour aroused suspicion. The man attempted to evade queries about a sack bag in his possession. On checking, the bag was found to contain five packets wrapped in khaki tape, emitting a strong smell of narcotics.
Following due procedure under the NDPS Act and in the presence of a Gazetted Officer, government witnesses, a weight-and-measure official and a photographer, the contraband was seized. The ganja weighed 5 kg and is valued at approximately Rs 75,000. The accused and the seized material were later handed over to GRP Nagpur, which registered a case under relevant provisions of the NDPS Act. Further investigation is in progress.
Meanwhile, Nagpur Rural Police also dealt a major blow to drug peddlers by seizing 24.25 kg of ganja worth Rs 4.85 lakh and arresting two persons during patrolling on the Nagpur–Jabalpur highway in the Kanhan subdivision. The accused were intercepted near the Tekdi flyover bus stand while hauling trolley bags that raised suspicion. They claimed they were travelling to Chitrakut in Uttar Pradesh, further alerting the police.
An anti-narcotics team, along with the Kanhan Police and a forensic unit, conducted a search in the presence of witnesses and found ganja packed in plastic bags inside the trolley bags. Police said the contraband was being transported to North India, where demand increases ahead of the Holi festival. The accused were identified as Amit Raikwar (34) and Amitendra alias Jiyu Jaikiransingh (28), both residents of Banda district, Uttar Pradesh. Three mobile phones worth Rs 45,000 were also seized.
Police said investigations in all the cases are ongoing to identify backward and forward linkages and dismantle the wider narcotics network operating through Nagpur, which is increasingly emerging as a transit point for inter-state drug trafficking.
