Koraput: Odisha Police Saturday formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into the illegal hashish oil trade racket operating from an island in Koraput district, from where narcotic drugs worth Rs 225 crore were seized two days ago, an officer said Saturday.
The police arrested at least six people, including the alleged kingpin of an interstate hashish oil syndicate, within 30 hours of a high-risk raid on a remote island inside the Jolaput reservoir in Koraput district, in what officials have described as one of the most significant narcotics crackdowns in Odisha’s history.
The arrests followed the dismantling of a sophisticated, temporary hashish oil manufacturing unit concealed deep within dense forest under Padwa police station limits along the Odisha–Andhra Pradesh border February 26.
The raid resulted in the seizure of 1,800.5 litres of hashish oil, valued at over Rs 225 crore, and 1,000 kg of ganja worth around Rs 5 crore. Police seized a full-fledged improvised laboratory setup, including a 28 KV generator, modified pressure cookers fitted with custom piping, metal connectors, storage drums and about 80 litres of cleaning solvents.
While one accused was apprehended at the spot, the alleged mastermind and his associates managed to slip into the forest moments before police reached the unit.
“All ferry points and possible escape routes were sealed. Continuous boat patrolling was carried out inside the reservoir. Six ground teams conducted grid searches and combing operations, while drones were deployed across multiple sectors to track movement in the dense canopy,” DIG (South-Western Range) Kanwar Vishal Singh told reporters.
Despite the challenging terrain, police succeeded in arresting Allen Jayaraj (33) of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, identified as the kingpin of the syndicate. Five others were also arrested – Kiran D (33), Anand Raj (28) and Bittu B (34) from Kerala, along with local facilitators Lalchan Khilla (25) of Malkangiri and Sadhu Pangi (45) of Koraput.
“This was a well-structured syndicate with technical expertise and interstate linkages. By dismantling the laboratory and arresting the kingpin within hours of the raid, we have struck at the manufacturing backbone of the racket,” the DIG said.
Police said the Kerala-based associates handled production and distribution logistics, while local facilitators sourced ganja and leveraged their familiarity with the terrain to shield operations.
He said an SIT has been formed under the supervision of the SP Koraput Rohit Verma to monitor the investigation.
“The accused will be taken on police remand, and forensic as well as financial investigations are underway. Multiple teams are being dispatched to other states to establish forward and backward linkages in the smuggling chain,” the DIG said.
The police said that hashish oil is prepared from ganja leaves. “The hashish oil or cannabis oil is prepared by an extraction method. The syndicate preferred this oil for being easy to transport and to avoid detection by police and excise personnel,” a senior police officer said.
PTI
