Nagpur: The latest interception ofinterstate narcotics peddlersin Bhandara on Friday with marijuana (167 kg) worth more than Rs25 lakh underlines the high demand for such contraband substances from theMaoist-beltofOdisha. The consignment was heading to Nashik from where it was supposed to be delivered to Pune, Mumbai, and Thane.The Bhandara police team, led by senior inspector Gokul Suryavanshi, had set up a trap on the Raipur-Nagpur Highway following a tip-off.The highway is considered the most preferred corridor through which the narcotics peddlers ferry their consignment from the eastern coast of the country to the western coast cities.The second-hand SUV, in which the peddlers were travelling, was escorted by the Nashik-based kingpin Tushar Bhosale. While Bhosale alerted his team in the SUV about the police vigilance, the cops too realised the peddlers had changed their route and entered the city instead of continuing on the highway towards Nagpur.Based on the cell phone tower analysis, Suryawanshi’s team started trailing the peddlers until they managed to track down the SUV in the market. The peddlers had repeatedly changed routes and locations in the city to dodge the chasing cops.The two persons nabbed were identified as Sumeet Thorwe and his aide Ravindra Shinde. Thorwe, the more seasoned of the two, admitted to having earlier taken the same route to bring marijuana from Odisha and delivered it to Bhosale in Nashik. Shinde was supposed to continue the journey from Nashik to Pune.SP Bhandara Noorul Hasan stated the gang’s connection to the Maoist groups is being probed, but they have managed to bust a western Maharashtra-based key narcotics peddling gang. “In a late-night inter-linked collaborative operation, the Nashik police were able to nab Tushar and his aide (Suraj) based on our input,” said Hasan, adding the gang supplied marijuana to cities like Pune and Nashik.Suryawanshi stated the consignment was packed in seven sacks and was being ferried in the dickey. “The peddlers claimed to be unaware of the sources as they are halted at a village called Jaipore in Odisha by the mastermind at the source. They neither show the urban peddlers the places where the marijuana poppies are cultivated inside the forests of the Maoist-dominated regions nor share their mobile numbers with these outstation racketeers. The peddlers have to wait at the village while the mastermind at the source takes their vehicle away, loads it with the consignment, and returns the loaded vehicle,” said Suryawanshi, who is now probing the case under the supervision of Dy SP Ashok Bagul.SP Hasan said he aimed to probe the upward and downward links of the interstate narcotics peddling rackets. Odisha’s Maoist-belt is a key marijuana supplier to cities in Maharashtra, as evidenced by a recent interception of narcotics peddlers. The demand for contraband substances from Odisha’s Maoist-belt is high, with a significant consignment intercepted on its way to Pune, Mumbai, and Thane. Read More
