Malkangiri: Mudulipada Police seized around five quintal of ganja near Podaghat Chhak under Chitrakonda Block in the district on Monday night. A person has been arrested in this connection.
The accused has been identified as Ranjit Kumar Garnaik, a resident of Purunagada village under Chendipada Police Station limits in Angul district.
Police sources said, Mudulipada Police staff, while performing MV checking on SH-47 last night, noticed one pick up van was moving from Balimela side to Govindpalli side at a high speed.
“When police stopped the vehicle for checking, Ranjit and the driver tried to escape”, sources added. “Ranjit was overpowered by the police but the driver managed to flee from the spot taking advantage of darkness.”
During search, Police recovered as many as 16 bags of contraband ganja weighing 477.450 kgs from the vehicle. They also seized the vehicle and two mobile phones from Ranjit.
The accused have allegedly procured ganja from Chitrakonda area and were transporting to Angul area for selling in higher price, police said.
A case has been lodged under NDPS Act in this connection and the arrested person will be produced in the court today, said a senior police official.