Bhubaneswar: Trailing a half-torn Rs 10 note used as a secret identifier in a drug trafficking syndicate, special task force (STF) on Friday busted a major interstate racket, arresting kingpin Durbasa Sahu (46), a primary school teacher from Boudh district, and his three associates in Bhubaneswar.His associates — Subudhi Sahu (40), Arun Kumar Rana (34) and Prakash Khatua (35) — all hail from Kantamal in Boudh.The breakthrough coincided with the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, and Union home minister Amit Shah chairing the 10th apex-level meeting of Narco Coordination Centre in Delhi, reiterating the Centre’s resolve to combat narcotics.STF DIG Kanwar Vishal Singh said the agency acted on a vital clue. “During a raid in Athagarh on Wednesday, we seized 190kg of ganja from delivery agent Nilambar Kanhar. He carried a half-torn Rs 10 note, meant to be matched with the other half by the receiver. This unusual modus operandi was designed to conceal identities and evade law enforcement,” Singh said.Interrogation of Kanhar led investigators to Durbasa, who had been operating from the shadows. “The torn currency note was the key that helped us track the kingpin. Though he was wanted in several cases, he was never arrested,” Singh said.According to the STF, Durbasa headed a syndicate spanning Odisha’s Boudh, Kandhamal and Sonepur districts, with networks extending into Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and West Bengal. Acting on intelligence, STF teams intercepted the group in Bhubaneswar while they were en route to West Bengal for a major cannabis transaction.Officials said the kingpin’s arrest delivers a significant blow to drug supply chains across multiple states. Preliminary checks revealed all four accused have prior criminal records linked to cannabis trafficking. While Durbasa had evaded arrest until now, his associates had earlier been booked in similar cases in Boudh and Nayagarh districts.“Our anti-drug enforcement drive under ‘Operation green clean’ will persist until we achieve a ‘Nasha Mukt’ Odisha. Financial probes against the accused are in progress. Durbasa will be taken on police remand to extract crucial leads on the backward and forward linkages of the interstate trafficking network, enabling us to identify financiers, transporters, receivers and other members of the organised syndicate,” the DIG said.
