Koraput, February 26 Hashish oil worth approximately Rs 225 crore was seized from a forest in the Koraput district of Odisha on Thursday, police said.
Acting on a tip-off, a team led by SP Rohit Verma busted a manufacturing unit inside the Jholaput forest near the state's border with Andhra Pradesh, they said.
"During the raid, over 1,800 litres of hashish oil, extracted from ganja, were recovered. The estimated market value of the seized contraband is around Rs 225 crore," said DIG (South-Western Range) Kanwar Vishal Singh.
"Equipment and materials used in the manufacturing were also confiscated. However, the accused managed to escape from the scene, and efforts are underway to apprehend them," he added.
The DIG said intensified enforcement against ganja has led traffickers to change their modus operandi.
"Since ganja is bulky and easier to detect during transportation, traffickers are increasingly converting it into hashish oil, which can be transported in smaller quantities and yields significantly higher profits," he said.
A litre of hashish oil fetches nearly 25 times the price of a kg of ganja, making it far more lucrative for smugglers, officials said.
In a separate operation, 1,143 kg of ganja, worth approximately Rs 5 crore, was seized from two vehicles in the Nandapur police station area, police said.
Four people were arrested in connection with the case. The seized contraband is estimated to be worth approximately Rs 5 crore, they said.
Preliminary investigation revealed that two of the arrested persons are from the Semiliguda area of the district, while the other two hail from Haryana, police said.
