Tihidi: The Tihidi police arrested three persons and seized 60 bags of coal from a delivery van on Bhadrak-Chandbali road near Kanpur Wednesday.
They have been identified as Arjun Jena and Prakash Das of Jajpur district and Daitari Nayak of Balidanddi village from Jamjodi panchayat.
According to reports, the police intercepted the vehicle and arrested the accused when they were heading towards Bhadrak.
Despite several raids conducted by police, a coal smuggling racket thrives in various parts of the district, reports said.
Local residents said such scenes are common in several areas under the Dhamra outpost, Dhamra marine police station, Bansada police station, Karanjamal outpost, Ghanteswar outpost, Pirahata outpost, Tihidi police station, Sabarang outpost and Bhadrak Rural police station.
Thousands of sacks of coal have piled up along the railway track and huge stocks of seized coal can be seen at various police stations.
Coal theft has been taking place in villages such as Sherpur, Palia, Chatrapada, Manipur, Biriharpur, Balasahi, Subudhia, Nuagan and Bansada.