Koraput, Jan 6: In a shocking incident, batches of contraband goods are being smuggled into Andhra Pradesh from the neighbouring Koraput district of Odisha. Interestingly, the Odisha police has exhibited an indifferent attitude towards this smuggling.

Ironically, the Andhra police has been repeatedly catching smugglers from Odisha with Ganja. According to a complaint by Alluri Sitaram Raju of Andhra, around 81 % of Ganja in Andhra Pradesh comes from Koraput and Malkanagiri districts of Odisha alone.

Out of 259 cases, 209 cases belong to Koraput and Malkanagiri districts, which brings Odisha's excise department under suspicion.

In 2018, 'Operation Clean' was launched in Koraput district to cleanse the illegal smuggling of Ganja here. Stringent steps and continuous raids by the district police earned them an award for cleansing the illegal activites back then. After the SP and the core team conducting the operation were transferred the situation has reached back to square one.

Around 1,63,300kg of Ganja seized in the last five years is still lying in 23 police stations of the district. The smuggling activites still going on, without any disruption, indicate that the special drive by the excise department to cleanse smuggling in the district has terribly failed.

According to information, a special task force (STF) established in 2023, seized 456kg of cannabis. In all, 75 smuggling mafias have been arrested under 41 registered cases by the STF.

It is to be noted that, last year alleging Phiringia police's involvement the police station was set ablaze by miscreants. In 2020, two constables were arrested in relation to smuggling activites. In 2014 also two ASI and two constables were arrested from Koraput district.

It seems like a distant dream for the smuggling activites to cease functioning in Koraput district. The internal involvement of the police officials gives a tainted picture of the ruling government. It only puts forth the negligent attitude of the ruling BJD government in making the district and the state at large Ganja free.

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