60 kg of drugs valued at Rs 8 crore seized in Odisha

Bhubaneswar, Nov 2 (IANS) The police in Odisha's Malkangiri district achieved a significant breakthrough on Sunday by busting a gang involved in the illegal smuggling of Hashish oil, a top police official said.

Speaking to media persons, Malkangiri Superintendent of Police (SP) Vinodh Patil said that the police have seized 60 kg of Hashish oil.

He told that the market price of the seized Hashish oil would be worth nearly Rs 8 crore.

Meanwhile, eight unknown accused persons involved in the case managed to escape from the crime spot, leaving eight motorcycles, which have also been seized by the police.

The Malkangiri SP also added that efforts are underway to arrest the eight accused drug peddlers.

According to police sources, while on patrol on Sunday at around 11 a.m., a team from Chitrakonda police station received intelligence that eight persons had gathered near the Sal tree jungle at ESSAR Chowk with eight motorcycles and were reportedly waiting to transport contraband liquid ganja or hashish to a buyer from the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

Acting on the input received, the patrolling team immediately rushed to the spot to verify the information.

"Upon seeing the police vehicle and personnel in uniform, the eight persons managed to escape from the spot, leaving their motorcycles and one plastic sack containing suspicious contraband articles. The patrolling team chased the miscreants and tried to apprehend them, but they managed to escape, taking advantage of the dense jungle," the Malkangiri police said in a press statement.

SP Patil told the media that this seizure of hashish oil is the first such case in Malkangiri district and across Odisha.

He also said that as per the data shared by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the maximum number of seizures of hashish oil have taken place in states like Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

He also added that it is the first such case in Odisha and the highest seizure in the country in a single case.

--IANS

gyan/khz