Rourkela (Odisha), February 17 The Odisha Police has seized over 500 kg of ganja worth Rs 80 lakh and arrested six persons for their alleged involvement in the illegal trade, officials said on Tuesday.
The seizure follows continuous police vigilance against the illegal transportation of ganja from Kandhamal and Boudh through Rourkela to Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, police said.
Rourkela SP Nitesh Wadhwani said, "This is a major success in our campaign against drugs and ganja in the city. We have arrested six persons in connection with this."
During patrolling late Monday, police received information about ganja being transported through Rourkela. Five vehicles were intercepted near Phatapipe on the Bondamunda road, and 502 kg of ganja, packed in 20 sacks, was seized, he said.
The arrested individuals are Gunanidhi Ghusi (36), Sukhanth Oram (37), Rahul Kumar Sahu (25), Nikhil Ray (23), Kaushik Kumar Padhee (31) and Niraj Sonkar (24).
"Out of the six arrested, four are local residents and two are from outside the state. We suspect that gangs from other states are also involved in the illegal trade," the SP said.