BERHAMPUR/PHULBANI: A seven-member Special Task Force (STF) team of the Crime Branch faced the fury of locals who allegedly thrashed and detained the squad during a drug bust at Kakendri village within Phulbani Sadar police limits on Wednesday.
After being detained for several hours, local police reached the spot and rescued the STF team from the clutches of irate villagers. Sources said on a tip off about sale of ganja, the STF team reached Kakendri in the morning to raid the place where the contraband was stocked.
The cops took several villagers for questioning. However, as the STF personnel were in plain clothes, the locals became suspicious and resisted them. The team was then beaten up and detained by villagers for three hours. In the meantime, one of the STF personnel managed to escape from the village and contacted Sadar police.
On being informed, police rushed to the village and rescued the remaining STF members. The injured personnel were provided treatment in the local hospital and later returned to Bhubaneswar. Meanwhile, Excise officials seized ganja worth `55 lakh hidden under coir stacks laden in three vehicles at Jagannathpur junction on the outskirts of Berhampur on the day.
Three persons, one each from Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Gajapati district were arrested in this connection. The vehicles were en route to Uttarakhand from Gajapati. An official said around 11 quintal of ganja was loaded in a truck, mini van and car near Antaragaon in Gajapati district. The ganja bags were concealed underneath coir stacks. All the three arrested persons are qualified with the one from Uttarakhand being a law graduate.