AGARTALA, February 25 (TIWN): In a joint operation by security forces and the administration huge amount of dry-ganja (Cannabis) was seized by the 195th battalion BSF from an abandoned place of Warabari under Sedhai Police Station on Tuesday.

Action of a tip-off a joint team led by Deputy Commandant of 195th battalion BSF Murlidharan, Inspector Sawyambir and excise department officials conducted raid at Warabari under Sedhai Police Station. During the raid they recovered 200 kilograms of dry ganja (Cannabis) worth Rs. 10 lakh from an abandoned place of Warabari in Sedhai.

The raid stated at around 10:30 am and continued till 2 pm. Though nobody was arrested in this connection, in order to curb smuggling of ganja, phensedyl and other contraband items to Bangladesh, BSF will keep conducting more such raid operations across the state, said BSF official. 

According to officials cultivation of illegal ganja plants (Cannabis) has become an ‘alarming problem’ in the state. In 2014, security agencies have destroyed 12,10,925 ganja plants of Rs 11.34 crore, the officials mentioned.

Plantations of cannabis are done on a large scale in the interior and inaccessible areas of the border region. Since most of these plantations are tucked away in hills and forests, government agencies have a tough time to detect and destroy them.

According to officials, a large number of villagers in Tripura cultivate cannabis and smuggle it to Bangladesh to earn money."There is a huge demand for cannabis in Bangladesh, and Tripura plays a key role in meeting this demand," the official said.