Officials unload the ganja seized early on Tuesday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Nov. 11: Officers of anti-smuggling unit, Guwahati customs division, seized a whopping 3,450 kg of high grade Manipuri ganja in the wee hours this morning. The ganja, concealed in bales of jute in a truck (registration no NL-06-A-1759), was headed for the city en route to Bihar.

The truck, coming from Imphal, was waylaid by customs officials at Baihata Chariali in Kamrup district between 3.30 am and 4 am. The owner and driver of the truck, Kuldip Singh, was arrested and said he was bringing the consignment to the city.

However, an official on condition of anonymity said only part of the consignment was meant to be unloaded in the city. The remainder was bound for Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, he added.

The ganja was concealed in 4,000 kg of jute. The customs officials pegged the market value of the haul to be around Rs 86.25 lakh.

Joint commissioner of customs (Northeast) Ashi Khieya said a preliminary inquiry has revealed that the truck was instructed to go to Bihar after a stopover at Guwahati. He said the details would come to the light once they start interrogating Kuldip Singh and three others arrested in connection with the haul.

He added that investigations have confirmed the existence of an well-entrenched drug trafficking network. He alleged that the network included a section of police personnel and motor vehicle inspectors to ensure safe passage of vehicles, loaded with ganja, through the city.

Khieya said today?s seizure was possible after the department?s sleuths, acting on specific information, laid a trap for the truck. He said an earlier attempt of the department had failed during the Durga Puja celebration.

?We have tightened the noose following information that more such trucks are likely to pass through the city in the coming days. After every big haul the racketeers try to send bigger consignments to compensate for the loss,? the joint commissioner said.

That Guwahati is fast turning into a transit point for high-grade ganja to the northern states can be gauged from the increasing reports of ganja haul.

The directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) had earlier this year confiscated nearly 15,000 kg of the contraband during a raid at Sonapur on the city?s outskirts. That haul, claimed the DRI, was the biggest ever in the country. Its value of the ganja had been estimated to be over Rs 7.5 crore.

The consignments mostly originate from Manipur and Bhutan. These are taken all the way to Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Delhi where they fetch attractive prices. ?Profits are huge as ganja is bought for Rs 400-500 a kg and then sold at Rs 2,500 a kg,? sources said. Manipuri ganja is supposed to be of better quality than the Bhutanese variety.