Bhubaneswar: In a major crackdown on illegal marijuana trade, Odisha Police seized a staggering 10.3 tonne of ganja during a series of raids across Kandhamal and Gajapati districts Tuesday. However, no arrests have been made so far, a senior police official confirmed.
Acting on intelligence inputs, police teams carried out operations at multiple locations under the jurisdiction of four police stations in Kandhamal district—Gochhapada, Phulbani Sadar, Tumudibandha, and Brahmanigaon. The seizures included 3,675 kg of ganja from Budhenipanka village forest under Katringia Gram Panchayat, 1,440 kg from Nikininda village forest under Bilbadi Gram Panchayat, 615 kg from Banimila forest under Kurthaguda Gram Panchayat, and 2,555 kg from Rajanagar forest near Padikia.
In a separate operation, police seized 2,000 kg (20 quintals) of ganja from Ridhima village under the R Udaygiri police station limits in Gajapati district.
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According to officials, traffickers had been concealing large quantities of ganja in remote forested areas to evade law enforcement before smuggling it out. Police have intensified surveillance and launched further raids to apprehend those involved in the trade.
Earlier in January, Director General of Police (DGP) Yogesh Bahadur Khurania announced a special enforcement drive to curb ganja cultivation and trafficking at the grassroots level, with operations set to continue until March 31.
PNN
