Police seized about 15 quintals of ganja worth Rs 50 lakh from a truck at Chilkili on the Nabarangpur-Papadahandi National Highway-26 on Tuesday.
Inspector in-Charge of Nabarangpur police station Rasmi Ranjan Pradhhan said that while the truck with No. AP 05 TB 8449 crossed Nabarangpur, the police on suspicion chased it. Near the Chikili bridge, the vehicle was abandoned. The cops found ganja packed in small pockets, stuffed into fish containers weighting 35 kg each. Police arrested two accused persons identified as truck driver Madhab Khantal and helper Dambru Suna Basia.
The consignment was being sent to different places in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh via Nabarangpur, he said. A case was registered and investigation was underway, said IIC.
The tribal pockets of the district bordering Chhattisgarh are emerging as major transit points for ganja smugglers. The illicit narcotic is allegedly being transported from the Maoist-affected cutoff area of the Chitrakonda reservoir in Malkangiri district to Nabarangpur district so that it could be transported outside the State.