Odisha police: 529 drug dealers were detained for three months after cannabis worth Rs. 49 crore was found

Breaking up interstate drug rackets, the Odisha Police have detained up to 529 suspected drug traffickers for their alleged participation in smuggling narcotics material over the last three months and seized cannabis, known locally as ganja, valued at Rs 49 crore, according to an official.

In an effort to combat drug trafficking in the State, law enforcement seized 49,400 kg of marijuana from January to March of this year. This is one of the largest amounts of marijuana seized in the first quarter of any calendar year, according to the official.

The recovery and apprehension of traffickers by the Odisha Excise Department were not included in this seizure statistic. The source further said that 529 traffickers, including interstate kingpins from Maharashtra, Kerala, West Bengal, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh, had been apprehended by the police in connection with 425 incidents of ganja seizure.

A well-oiled network of intermediaries transports illegal goods from various locations, mostly the Malkangiri area, to the country’s north and south. Malkangiri is now considered the state’s greatest ganja-producing area because to the significant amount of seizures that have occurred recently. According to government sources, the contraband is transported to other locations by either road or rail smuggling.

Despite the fact that the police have successfully apprehended over 500 ganja traffickers in the last three months, it is generally accepted that the money-laundering trade in marijuana is thriving in the State because of purported connections between police and excise officers and drug dealers. The government sources noted that there have been cases in the past of both police and excise employees being charged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Act.