Bhubaneswar: In a significant victory for the Odisha Crime Branch’s Special Task Force (STF), a Bhubaneswar court has convicted an individual in a large-scale interstate ganja trafficking operation, leading to a sentence of 10 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
The ruling was issued on Wednesday by the Court of the 1st Additional Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge in Bhubaneswar, pertaining to STF Police Station Case No. 13 of 2022.
The convicted individual, Rajesh Singh, was found guilty of possessing and transporting a substantial quantity of ganja, violating Sections 20(b)(ii)(C) and 29 of the NDPS Act. In addition to the prison sentence, the court has levied a fine of Rs. 1 lakh, with the stipulation that failure to pay will result in an additional six months of rigorous imprisonment.
The STF’s case stemmed from intelligence reports regarding an interstate drug trafficking operation transporting a large shipment of ganja from Ganjam district in Odisha to Bihar, utilizing a specially modified Hywa truck. Acting on this information, STF officers intercepted the vehicle near Dumuduma Crossing on National Highway-16 in Bhubaneswar on June 3, 2022.
Upon inspection, officials discovered 1,010 kg of ganja hidden within a secret compartment that had been custom-built into the truck. Further investigations revealed that the illegal substance was part of a well-organized interstate trafficking network with connections in both Odisha and Bihar.
The investigation was led by former STF Inspectors Ashok Kumar Giri, who is currently an ACP in the Cuttack Urban Police District, and Dipti Ranjan Pradhan, now an Inspector with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Bhubaneswar.
The STF noted that the trial was overseen by its Investigation Cell, under the guidance of Additional SP Sanjeev Satpathy, DSP Pradipa Kumar Rout, and Inspector Arun Kumar Nayak. Special Public Prosecutor Rashmi Ranjan Brahma was also credited for effectively advocating the prosecution’s case.
This ruling marks the sixth conviction achieved by the STF in 2026, maintaining a perfect conviction rate for all resolved cases this year, as stated in the official announcement.
