BHUBANESWAR: Over 12 quintal of ganja worth Rs 50 lakh was seized by the excise officials on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar on Wednesday. The seizure was made during a raid at Kalibati area on National Highway 16 under Jankia police limits in Khurda district.
Police arrested two persons and seized a pick-up van during the raid. The accused have been identified as Samir Sabar and Susan Badaraita of Gajapati district. The raid was conducted by a joint team of district excise sleuths and mobile squad of State Excise Department.
The cops found ganja packed in small packets, stuffed into gunny bags weighing 30 kg each. Preliminary investigation revealed that the contraband was being illegally transported from Mohana in Gajapati district to Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri.
As many as 40 bags were seized from the vehicle. During interrogation, Sabar said that he was asked by a wholesaler in Gajapati to supply the packets to retailers in the cities. The operation was led by two inspector-ranked officials and this was the first major catch made by the Khurda district excise officials this year. It was a tip-off that led the excise sleuths to the vehicle during a search operation between Pitapalli and Khurda on NH 16, an official said.