Malkangiri: In a major crackdown, Odisha police seized over 14 quintal of Ganja (dry cannabis) and arrested eight persons including one home guard, on Monday.
As per reports, police seized 14.11 quintal of dry cannabis in the crackdown and arrested the eight persons including the home guard of MV 79 police station and a woman.
The expected market value of the seized Ganja is over Rs 1 crore. The seized contraband was being transported in a truck to Bihar, informed police sources.
Apart from the truck, police have reportedly seized one four-wheeler, one bike and five mobile phones from the possession of the drug peddlers.
Police stopped a speeding truck at a check point and during interrogation, they smelled ganja from the vehicle. Cops found around 48 ganja sacks in the vehicle. During interrogation, the peddlers admitted that the contraband was being transported to Bihar," said Anshuman Dwibedi, Malkangiri SDPO.
Earlier in a major crackdown on January 30 and 31, police had seized ganja worth around Rs 2 crore from Koraput and Berhampur.
On January 31, Excise Department officials seized around 20 quintals of Ganja in Berhampur in Ganjam district. Sources informed, the seized ganja may worth over Rs 1 crore. The officials caught hold of one drug peddler in connection with the illegal trade.
Similarly, in another incident in Koraput on January 30, 15.77 quintal Ganja worth Rs 75 lakh was seized by Semiliguda Police while it was being transported in a tanker trunk.
As per government reports, by the end of year 2020, around 143 cases of Ganja trade were registered while 30172 kg Ganja was seized. Besides, police have arrested 294 persons and seized 127 vehicles in this connection.
So far in 2021, nine cases of the illegal trade have been registered while 2813 kg ganja has been seized apart from arrest of 26 persons and seizure of 10 vehicles, informed police.
(Edited By Pradeep Singh)