College student held with 5 kg ganja

Berhampur: In what officials describe as a new tactic adopted by the ganja mafia, a college student was caught transporting contraband when excise officials seized over 5 kg of ganja from his possession near the Agriculture District Office in Digapahandi on Tuesday.

The accused, Binay Rait (21) of Halapanka village under Mohana police station in Gajapati district, is reportedly a college student. According to excise officials, traffickers are increasingly using young students as carriers to smuggle ganja, believing they would attract less suspicion during transit.

Acting on information that ganja was being transported from Mohana to Berhampur, a team of excise officials laid a trap near the Agriculture District Office. The operation was conducted under the leadership of Chikiti Excise Range Inspector Sanjay Kumar Panda along with Digapahandi Excise Station OIC N Tripathi and constables Alfalata Sahu, Balaram Patra, Rajesh Jena, Sekh Rajesh Uddin and Pruthviraj Swain.

During the operation, the team intercepted a motorcycle heading towards Berhampur at high speed. On searching the vehicle, the officials recovered the ganja concealed inside.

The accused was arrested and produced before the Berhampur District Judge Court. His bail plea was rejected, and was subsequently remanded to judicial custody in Berhampur jail. The motorcycle and a mobile phone used in the smuggling attempt have also been seized, officials said, adding that further investigation is underway to trace the network behind the racket.