The recovery has raised serious concerns over alleged lapses in parcel screening and monitoring within the logistics chain.
The special cell of Ludhiana police has seized more than two quintals of ganja during a series of operations targeting an inter-state drug smuggling network.
The latest seizure of 56 kilograms of ganja was made on Wednesday from the warehouse of a courier company located in the Focal Point industrial area. The recovery has raised serious concerns over alleged lapses in parcel screening and monitoring within the logistics chain.
Police officials said the latest recovery is linked to an earlier case in which a drug peddler was arrested with around 1.05 quintals of ganja. Investigations have revealed that the entire consignment in both cases had been routed through the same courier service.
According to sources in the special cell, nearly seven quintals of ganja may have been transported through this courier network over the past three to four months, indicating the existence of a well-organised interstate smuggling operation.
Special cell in-charge, inspector Navdeep Singh, said glaring irregularities were found during inspection of the courier warehouse. He stated that the facility did not have an X-ray scanning system and lacked a proper mechanism to verify the contents of parcels.
“These lapses raise serious security concerns,” the officer said, adding that police have initiated legal action against the courier company and are also probing the possible involvement of its employees in facilitating the drug supply chain.
During the probe, the police also nominated Gunny Nath, a native of Bihar who is believed to be currently hiding in Odisha. The police said the accused had earlier been living in the Daba area of Ludhiana and is suspected to be involved in multiple cases under the NDPS Act related to large-scale ganja trafficking.
Earlier this month, the special cell had arrested another accused, Santosh Sahni, from whose possession 105 kilograms of ganja was recovered.
The Inspector added that with the latest seizure, the total recovery in the case has now crossed two quintals of ganja. They are continuing to track the wider interstate network involved in the supply and distribution of narcotics through courier channels.
