Bhubaneswar: The Special Task Force (STF) in collaboration with Raurkela police raided an area in Panposh near Rourkela in Odisha’s Sundargarh district. Acting on a credible tip-off, the joint team apprehended two individuals, identified as Bitu Singh Munda (46) and Rohit Munda (49), both hailing from the Khunti district in Jharkhand, on charges of possessing narcotic drugs.
During the meticulously executed operation, authorities seized a substantial quantity of opium weighing 10.508 kg, along with other incriminating materials, from the possession of the accused. Lacking any valid documentation or authority for the possession of the contraband opium, both individuals were promptly arrested and produced before the court of the Additional District and Session Judge-cum-Special Judge, Rourkela.
The accused now face charges under Section 18(b)/29 of the NDPS Act 1985, and the investigation into the matter is currently underway. Initial findings suggest that the arrested individuals, along with their associates who remain at large, were tasked with transporting the contraband opium to drug peddlers across Sundargarh, Rourkela, and Jharkhand. It is believed that the seized opium may have been illegally diverted from legal cultivation farms in Madhya Pradesh.
This significant seizure marks the largest haul of opium in Odisha to date, underscoring the severity of the illicit drug trade in the region. To ascertain the source of procurement, the STF plans to collaborate with the Madhya Pradesh Police and the Central Bureau of Narcotics in Gwalior, the licensing and regulating authority for legal cultivation of opium.
The STF’s relentless efforts in combating narcotic drugs have yielded commendable results in recent years. Since 2020, the STF has seized over 75 kg of brown sugar/heroin, 202 grams of cocaine, and more than 123 quintals of ganja/marijuana, in addition to over 14 kg of opium. Furthermore, more than 193 drug dealers and peddlers have been apprehended as part of the ongoing special drive against the illegal drug trade.
