Earlier this year, a group of individuals initiated what appeared to be a legitimate business by registering on a prominent e-commerce platform to market their products. Their flagship item was the renowned Sambalpuri saree, celebrated for its traditional double Ikat tie-dye technique and distinctive motifs.
Orders were received from various regions across the nation, shipments were dispatched, and everything seemed to be operating normally for several months. However, the situation changed recently when the Balangir police in Odisha were alerted to suspicious activities associated with the sarees.
On Wednesday, law enforcement apprehended seven individuals and confiscated 113 kilograms of ganja concealed within the saree packages that were en route to a local logistics center. Authorities indicated that two of those detained were the key players behind the scheme, which exploited a loophole in the e-commerce system: the lack of content scanning of consignments prior to dispatch.
The suspects, primarily in their 30s, sourced cannabis from remote areas in the Kandhamal district, carefully packaged the drugs, and utilized the e-commerce platform to generate QR codes for the shipments. After receiving payments from buyers, they delivered the parcels to the nearest logistics facility in Balangir, as detailed by Balangir Superintendent of Police Abilash G.
“The perpetrators devised this new method because delivery personnel had no means to ascertain the actual contents of the sealed packages. The current batch we seized was intended for Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. They camouflaged ganja shipments as saree orders, enabling the illegal product to traverse the e-commerce network without arousing suspicion,” explained the Balangir SP.
The accused misused a legal platform to distribute illicit items, he further noted.
According to police sources, at least ten boxes were recovered, each containing ten smaller boxes, wherein the contraband was allegedly hidden.
Investigations, including the review of CCTV footage, indicated that the group had employed a similar strategy four to five times previously to transport cannabis across different regions of the country.
Authorities established that the logistics center had minimal information regarding the sellers, relying solely on CCTV footage after scanning the QR codes to process shipments. “Upon reaching the final destination, delivery agents only scanned the QR code for the address, treating it like a standard parcel. There was no opportunity for law enforcement to detect the illicit operation,” stated an official.
As per Balangir SP, the suspects had acquired their methods from buyers who traveled to the district to instruct them on how to transport the drugs.
When questioned about the possibility of issuing a notice to the e-commerce platform, the Balangir SP mentioned that they are currently reviewing the legal implications of the case. He also noted that the logistics center in Balangir has been instructed to implement scanning measures similar to those employed by CISF personnel at airports to inspect the contents of sealed packages.
Police sources indicated that Odisha serves as a significant hub for illegal cannabis cultivation and trafficking, supplying major interstate syndicates linked to states like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, and Goa.
Recently, law enforcement has initiated specialized operations using drones to eliminate illicit ganja farming in remote areas of tribal-dominated districts. The Odisha Police reported the destruction of over 108 metric tons of seized ganja, valued at approximately Rs 544 crore, during a targeted operation conducted in June and July.
Sujit Bisoyi is a Special Correspondent for the Indian Express, covering the state of Odisha. His reporting focuses on politics, policy, and human interest stories. He can be found on Twitter at @bisoyisujit87.
