Ambulance carrying over 4 quintal ganja from Odisha to Chhattisgarh seized, driver arrested

The excise officials of Subarnapur seized 4.20 quintals of ganja from an ambulance at Manamunda in Boudh district on Thursday. The driver of the vehicle has been arrested in this connection.

The contraband was being transported from Boudh to neighbouring Chhattisgarh.

Acting on a tip-off from a reliable source, the excise sleuths chased the ambulance and intercepted it on the way. The driver tried to escape. However, he was nabbed by the officials. Packets containing huge quantities of the contraband were found in the ambulance following a search operation.

The Excise sleuths seized the vehicle and started an investigation into the incident.

As per sources, this is the harvest time of ganja and the contraband is supplied to different parts of the country from Boudh. The smugglers are supplying the contraband in various innovative ways to escape from the glare of the excise officials.

In another such incident, Machkund police seized over three quintals of ganja from Muliaput ghat forest in Koraput district on Thursday.

The contraband was stored in the forest to be supplied to different states. Acting on a tip-off, Machkund police conducted a raid at the place and seized the contraband. The worth of the seized contraband is expected to be more than Rs 30 lakh.

However, the ganja mafias managed to escape from the spot during the police raid. Further investigation into the incident is underway. Police are trying to reach the root of the smuggling.