BHUBANESWAR: In one of the major drug hauls in recent years in Odisha, the customs department officials on Friday seized about 22 kg cocaine worth a whopping Rs 220 crore from a ship at Paradip Port in Jagatsinghpur district.
The cargo ship MP Devi was en route from Indonesia to Denmark and it had arrived in Paradip on Thursday night.
Sources said Customs Department officials had received information about the transportation of a huge quantity of contraband in MP Devi and subsequently seized the contraband.
A team of Customs officials from Bhubaneswar left for Paradip later in the day to carry out a detailed investigation. Sources said the officials are investigating from where the contraband was procured and the place and the consignee to whom it was supposed to be delivered.
This is the first time cocaine has been seized from Paradip Port. The vessel's crew are being questioned and further investigation is underway, said an official of the Customs Department.