KORAPUT/JEYPORE : In a major breakthrough, Koraput police on Thursday seized more than 1,800 litre of hashish oil, valued at approximately `200 crore, after busting an inter-state manufacturing unit operating near Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border.
Acting on precise intelligence inputs, a special team led by Koraput SP Rohit Verma raided the illegal unit located along the Jholaput reservoir in the remote forest area under Padua police limits. Due to inaccessibility of the terrain and to maintain secrecy, the police team approached the site by crossing the reservoir on boats and later trekked through dense forest.
Police said the illegal facility was functioning as a temporary and mobile manufacturing unit. Several articles and equipment used for extraction and processing of hashish oil were seized from the spot. In addition, more than 1,000 kg of ganja, estimated to be worth around Rs 5 crore, was also recovered during the raid.
DIG (South Western Range) KV Singh said the seizure was the largest-ever hashish oil haul reported from the tribal region. Inter-state links in illegal manufacturing and trafficking network have been prima facie established. The kingpin and other masterminds involved in the racket have been identified and efforts are underway to nab them. The raid is still continuing and further details are being withheld in view of the ongoing investigation.
In a separate raid in Nandapur area, police seized 1,143 kg of ganja valued at around Rs 5 crore and arrested four persons including two interstate smugglers from Haryana on the day. The contraband was concealed inside plastic trays loaded in two pickup vehicles.
Police said two of the accused are local suppliers from Semiliguda in Koraput district, while the rest were receivers from Haryana. Their identities are being withheld as further investigation is underway.
Singh said the crackdown on narcotics trafficking in the region will continue with intensified surveillance and intelligence-based operations.