Nishamukta Odisha: Massive drug bust in Koraput as police seize over 1800 ltr cannabis oil worth over ₹200 cr

Koraput: In a major breakthrough under “Nishamukta Odisha” (Drug-Free Odisha) campaign, Police have seized more than 1,800 litres of cannabis oil worth over ₹200 crores and dismantled an inter-state illegal production unit operating in a remote forest area of Odisha's Koraput district. Several temporary manufacturing setups, equipment, and materials used in the production process were also recovered and destroyed during the operation.

As per reports, the illegal unit was functioning in a highly inaccessible and dense forest region near the Jalaput Reservoir which comes under the jurisdiction of Padua police station, along the Odisha–Andhra Pradesh border.

Acting on credible intelligence, a special team was formed under the leadership of the Superintendent of Police, Koraput, following directions from the DIG (Southern Range) and a well-planned raid conducted. During the operation, police seized more than 1800 litre hashish oil, a derivative of ganja, with an estimated market value of approximately ₹225 crore. Equipment and materials used in the preparation of hashish oil were also confiscated. The accused managed to flee from the spot, and efforts are underway to apprehend them.

11 quintal ganja seized in addition

In a separate operation, police under Nandapur police station seized 1,143 kg ganja and arrested four persons. The estimated market value of the seized ganja is around ₹5 crore.  The contraband was being transported in two Mahindra pickup vehicles when police intercepted the consignment based on specific inputs. Preliminary investigation revealed that two of the arrested individuals are from Semiliguda in Koraput district, while the other two are residents of Haryana. 

Police officials stated that the ongoing crackdown across the state has forced drug traffickers to alter their methods of operation. As ganja is bulky and more likely to be detected during transportation, offenders are now processing it into hashish oil, which is compact, easier to smuggle, and far more profitable. They added that in the illegal market, one litre of hashish oil can fetch nearly 25 times the price of one kilogram of ganja.

Earlier, under cases registered at Chitrakonda police station, 60 kg hashish oil were seized and two persons arrested. In another case, 2 kg hashish oil were recovered and four accused were apprehended.

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Also read: Operation Green Clean: Cannabis crops worth ₹4.5 crore destroyed in Odisha's Koraput