From ganja to liquid gold: Mafia adopts new smuggling strategy; Odisha DGP shares crucial update

In a major development in the Rs 200 crore cannabis oil seizure case in Koraput, police have traced the alleged mastermind behind the racket as the investigation gathered pace on Friday.

The breakthrough comes days after a cannabis oil manufacturing unit was unearthed on an island in the Jalaput Reservoir.

Earlier, police had dismantled a temporary factory operating from the reservoir island, where 1,800 litres of cannabis oil and one tonne of ganja, collectively estimated to be worth over Rs 200 crore, were seized. One trafficker was arrested on the spot, and strict surveillance was mounted on the island using drones due to the absence of direct road access.

Providing an update on the case, Odisha Director General of Police (DGP) Y.B. Khurania said police have now reached the alleged mastermind behind the cannabis oil network and are carrying out a comprehensive investigation to uproot the entire operation.

He said, “We had initiated an operation to destroy areas where ganja was being farmed and cultivated. Ganja, which was cultivated over 30,000 acres of land, was destroyed. Apart from that, two lakh kilograms of ganja were seized from across Odisha.”

The DGP further stated, “Initially, hashish oil was seized in Malkangiri and now in Koraput. When the criminals realised that they would be caught and the oil seized, they began further distilling it to reduce the concentration. The main accused in the Koraput raid has been apprehended by the police. We will investigate and establish forward and backward linkages related to him.”

Police said that after large quantities of cannabis were intercepted, traffickers changed their strategy by extracting oil and transporting it in liquid form instead of moving raw ganja.

As the value of one litre of cannabis oil is several times higher than that of one kilogram of cannabis, the mafia allegedly adopted the new method to maximise profits while reducing the risk of detection.

A sustained crackdown is underway, with drone surveillance being used to identify and destroy illegal cultivation and trace additional manufacturing units. Police said further arrests are likely as efforts continue to dismantle the broader network operating in the region.