Raipur NDPS court sentences man to 10 years for smuggling 698 kg cannabis

Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], September 2 (ANI): A special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) court in Chhattisgarh's Raipur has convicted a man in connection with the peddling of cannabis worth several crores.
The court of Special Judge (NDPS Act), Raipur, Pankaj Kumar Sinha, on Tuesday pronounced Sajan Yadav (32), hailing from Rajnandgaon, guilty in connection with peddling of cannabis and awarded 10 years imprisonment along with Rs 2 lakh fine, said Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Vinod Bharat.
According to the prosecution, acting on a tip-off about cannabis being smuggled from Odisha to Allahabad, the sleuths of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on 11 November 2020 intercepted a truck on the Raipur-Abhanpur Highway and recovered 697 kilograms of cannabis. Meanwhile, the agency had arrested three persons identified as Pankaj Kumar Rai, Vikas Kumar Rai and Amrit Kumar Sahu.
Special Public Prosecutor Vinod Bharat, while talking to ANI, said, "On November 11, 2020, intelligence officer Sanjeet Singh received information about a container carrying approximately 800 kg of cannabis from Odisha to Allahabad, scheduled to arrive in Abhanpur around 4:30 PM."
He added, "A team was formed, and upon the container's arrival at Atal Chowk, it was intercepted. Three individuals inside the container were questioned and confessed to the hidden cannabis. The container's registered owner, Sajan Yadav, was later arrested and charged under Sections 25 and 29 of the NDPS Act."
The court found Yadav guilty and awarded him 10 years' imprisonment and a fine of ₹1 lakh under each section, totalling ₹2 lakhs in fines and 10 years imprisonment concurrently.
The seized cannabis weighed 698 kg and is estimated to cost around a crore, Bharat added. (ANI)