Bhubaneswar: A BBA graduate from Keralam and three youths from Kandhamal and Balasore districts were arrested by the special task force of the state crime branch in Bhubaneswar on Friday for allegedly running an inter-state ganja trafficking racket. STF DIG Kanwar Vishal Singh said the gang operated across Odisha, Keralam and Karnataka.“Mohhamad Asif (27) of Alappuzha, Keralam, who holds a BBA degree, is the kingpin of the racket. We arrested him, along with three associates — Chandan Digal (23), Rashmi Ranjan Digal (26) and Subhransu Sekhar Panda (22) — from a house in Badagada area,” Singh said.Acting on specific intelligence, STF officials learnt that the accused assembled at Pandab Nagar in Bhubaneswar to finalise the transportation of cannabis to Keralam and other states. A rented house in the locality, used as a warehouse, was raided and ganja packets were seized. Chandan and Rashmi, both from Kandhamal, and Panda from Balasore, sourced cannabis and supplied it to Asif.“Asif came to Bhubaneswar a few days ago to receive a consignment. He was involved in a drug case under Khandagiri police station limits in Aug 2025. If required, we will take the accused on remand to probe the backward and forward linkages of the network,” the DIG added. STF sources said Asif planned to supply ganja to college students and pubs in Bengaluru, Mysore, Kochi and Trivandrum.
