Nearly 700 kg of cannabis was seized in Varanasi and two members of an inter-state drug trafficking gang were arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh police, officials said on Tuesday.
The seizure was made on National Highway 2 when a container truck loaded with the cannabis was intercepted in Rohaniya police station area after a tip-off on Monday, the officials said.
The action was carried out by officials of the Varanasi field unit of the STF and Narcotics Control Bureau, Lucknow, they said.
"The STF was getting inputs on an inter-state drug trafficking gang which was operational in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Odisha and Chhattisgarh, among other states and spreading illegal trade in UP also," a Task Force official said.
Working on the information, we were tipped off about a cannabis-laden container truck, moving from Odisha to UP via Bihar, which was intercepted and a huge recovery of 697 kg cannabis made, the official said.
The estimated worth of the seized cannabis in the black market is Rs 35 lakh, he added.
According to the official, the cannabis was procured from Ganjam district of Odisha and was supposed to reach Prayagraj, while the truck belonged to a man in Bihar's Patna.
The two accused arrested from the truck were identified as Lallan Singh and Ajit Kumar Yadav, both natives of Vaishali district in Bihar, the official said.
"They were booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. A case has been registered against them in Lucknow. During initial probe, they told investigators that they would get Rs 20,000 for each trip and that is how they got lured into this work," he added.
What Varanasi Small Traders Expect From Union Budget 2024 2 UP Men Imitate Scene From 'Mirzapur' For A Reel, Arrested Woman Dies By Suicide After Hearing About Husband's Death In UP: Cops Centre Fact-Checks Mamata Banerjee's Mic-Off Claim, She Hits Back At Olympics Opening Ceremony, Drag Parody Of 'The Last Supper' Draws Flak Children Of Indian-Americans Face Deportation As Time Runs Out Trump Vows To Hold Rallies With More Security Despite Assassination Attempt Fake Billing Scam Worth Thousands Of Crores Unearthed: Punjab Minister 'What Kind Of Democracy?' Court Raps Cops For Seeking Action On Professor Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.