Bhubaneswar, July 11 -- The OdishaCrime Branch's Special Task Force (STF) on Friday arrested an alleged kingpin of an interstate ganja trafficking network from Purba Medinipur in West Bengal, uncovering a unique method allegedly used by the racket to identify buyers and suppliers. The accused, Ratan Mondal, had been absconding since January 2025.

STF officials said Ratan was apprehended after a 25-day operation in West Bengal. He is suspected to be a key receiver in a network that procured ganja from Kandhamal, Boudh and Sonepur districts of Odisha and supplied it to different states.

During the investigation, the STF recovered a half-torn currency note, which investigators believe was used as a secret identification marker during ganja...