Seized Drugs around 3270 Kgs Destroyed by STF,Odisha

Bureau,Odishabarta

Bhubaneswar: The Special Task Force of Odisha Police on Saturday destroyed 3,270 kg of ganja following due procedure. The STF sources said the drugs were disposed of as per the decision of the Drug Disposal Committees of Kandhamal, Malkangiri, Angul and Koraput districts at the designated incinerators.

The drugs were seized in 11 cases from the possession of the accused persons in different cases under the NDPS Act. The seized drugs were certificated by the courts concerned and handed over to the Drug Disposal Committee for destruction.

The STF has already destroyed more than 8.5 kg of brown sugar as per Section 52A of NDPS Act, 1985 in June this year. More cases are under process (both at STF and district police level) for destruction. It is expected that most of the seized drugs will be destroyed within the next 3-6 months.

In recent years, in view of the massive campaign against narcotics, especially ganja, there has been huge piling up of seized drugs. As the trial of narcotic cases takes time, these seized drugs remain stocked at police stations/court malkhanas and exposed to all kinds of vulnerabilities.

The piling up of the seized drugs has been a cause of concern and the Supreme Court had passed an order on destruction of the seized drugs especially emphasising on pre-trial disposal of the seized drugs.

However, due to some procedural and technical ambiguities, seized drugs could not be disposed of. In this backdrop, the STF approached the Orissa High Court with a prayer for certain orders to resolve the hindrances involved in disposing of the the seized drugs.

On January 31, 2022 the High Court passed a judgment directing the subordinate courts to dispose of the applications filed under Section 52A of NDPS Act, 1985 issuing a detailed SOP for pre-trial disposal of the seized drugs.