Koraput: Huge quantity of ganja has been seized by Odisha Police from the Lamtaput area in the Koraput district on Friday and three dealers have been arrested in this connection.
The three arrested drug dealers have been identified as Sudarshan Lendru of Mashkunda police station, Umesh Babu of Uttar Pradesh, and Singhpal.
Acting on a tip-off, the Lamataput police team, led by the Nandapur SDPO, on the orders of the Koraput SP, found a large quantity of cannabis smuggled in a truck loaded with salt near Tikaput village. The smugglers kept a bag of salt on top of the loaded with ganja sacks.
Reportedly, Lamataput police have been able to apprehend them while it was being transported to Chhattisgarh in a sack of salt in the truck. The cops have arrested three ganja mafias, including a 14-wheeler truck loaded with 5 tonnes of cannabis.
After unloading the salt from the truck, 223 bags of ganja were found to contain more than 5 tons of cannabis. The seized ganja is estimated to cost around Rs 5 crore, police said.
Lamataput police have formed a special identity to curb ganja smuggling in Odisha.
Notably, two more smugglers have escaped from the spot taking advantage of the situation at night. The cops have initiated a manhunt to apprehend the escaped smugglers.
Ms Kalinga