Shillong, July 2 (NNN): A truck transporting cannabis worth around Rs. 2.28 crores was detained by customs sleuths on the Shillong bypass road on Saturday afternoon. Acting on tip off, officials of the Customs Headquarters, Preventive Unit, Shillong intercepted the truck near Diengpasoh village and confiscated 1,520 kg of ganja packed in 93 packets, which were covered with planks and tarpaulin in the truck. Terming the bust as the biggest seizure made so far this year, a custom official said, “Each packet weighed about 16.4kg and the total quantity of the 93 packets is 1,520kg with its market value around Rs.2.28 crore.” He informed that the driver identified as Munil Rai (35) and his helper, Arvind Rai (24) were detained and the truck has been seized. However, the helper had to be admitted in a city hospital after complaint of nausea. A case under the NDPS Act, 1985 has been registered. When asked, the official informed that preliminary investigation revealed that the seized cannabis was coming from Tripura, destined for Bihar. Shillong is becoming a transit point and destination for narcotics and high end drugs. As far as cannabis is concerned, the contraband has been coming from Tripura and the destination is mainly Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, he added. The custom officials said with Saturday’s catch, 8 cases have been registered so far in the last two months for cannabis. “The total seizure during the period was 5,000 kg amounting to Rs 7.5 crore,” he added.
