127 Kg Ganja, 5 Country-Made Guns Seized in Odisha’s Kandhamal; Two Arrested

Kandhamal: Baliguda police in Kandhamal district have seized 127 kilograms of ganja and five country-made guns in a major crackdown on illegal activities.

Two persons, identified as Balia Pradhan and Sujan Pradhan of Tilori Panchayat, were arrested during the operation.

Police said the accused had been engaged in ganja smuggling and illegal arms trade for a long time in the region. The seizure has once again underlined the nexus between narcotics smuggling, country-made weapons and organised crime in Kandhamal.

“We had received information from secret sources about illegal arms manufacturing. Based on this input, we intensified raids under ‘Operation Prahar’ and recovered five country-made guns along with 127 kg of ganja,” Baliguda SDPO Ramendra Prasad told reporters.

He further said the two accused were not only making and supplying firearms to criminals, dacoits, ganja mafia and poachers, but were also directly linked with wildlife-related crimes. Police have launched further investigations to identify others connected to the racket and to dismantle the wider network.