Interstate Ganja Supplier from Odisha Arrested by Delhi Police in Major Narcotics Bust

Bhubaneswar: In a significant crackdown on interstate drug trafficking, the Anti-Narcotics Squad (ANS) of Delhi Police has arrested a key ganja supplier from Odisha’s Kandhamal district, dealing a major blow to a narcotics network operating across Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi-NCR.

The accused, identified as Aakash Kumar Digal, hails from a remote forested village in Kandhamal. His arrest follows a sustained operation involving surveillance and technical intelligence after an earlier drug seizure.

On the intervening night of March 11 and 12, ANS officials intercepted two men — Akbar (36) and Firoj Khan (41), both residents of Ghaziabad — near Kalyanpuri in Delhi. The duo was found carrying 21.73 kg of ganja, classified as a commercial quantity under the NDPS Act, along with 46 grams of smack. The seized contraband was valued at around Rs 12 lakh.

A case was subsequently registered at Kalyanpuri Police Station under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. During interrogation, Firoj Khan revealed that he sourced ganja in bulk from Aakash Kumar Digal in Odisha and supplied it across Delhi-NCR.

Following the arrests, Digal reportedly went underground, switching off his mobile phones. Police traced his location to a difficult-to-access hilly and forested region in Kandhamal, known for natural ganja cultivation. After conducting multiple raids and maintaining continuous surveillance, the ANS team tracked his movement to Bhubaneswar on March 26, where he was apprehended after a brief chase.

He was brought to Delhi on March 28 and formally arrested in connection with the case.

During preliminary interrogation, Digal admitted to supplying ganja for the past two to three years, leveraging the dense forest terrain of his native village to evade law enforcement. Police said his involvement was driven by the lure of quick financial gains as part of an organised interstate drug syndicate.

Officials from the East District Police termed the arrest a major breakthrough, stating that dismantling the source of supply would significantly curb the inflow of narcotics into the national capital region.

Further investigation is underway to identify other links in the drug network.