BHUBANESWAR: Maoists are not the only tribes who feel at home in the remote, inhospitable terrains of Malkangiri. There are others too. The southern-most district of the State may not offer much in terms of tourism but keeps drawing cannabis traders from across the country. In Red-hot Malkangiri, they get involved in ganja trade to get high.

Sample this. Mubarak Khan from Haryana’s Punahana moved to Nabarangpur more than a year back with his entire family. Till he was nabbed by Malkangiri police last month, he kept smuggling cannabis from the district to Haryana.

Last year, Malkangiri police seized over 17,000 kg of cannabis and destroyed cultivation of the banned substance spread over 1,000 acre in the district. “We arrested at least 180 persons for their involvement in illegal cannabis trade and half of them were from other States,” reveals SP Jagmohan Meena.  

Malkangiri police had also arrested Krishna Kashyap and Kashinath Bagel of Chhattisgarh, Sachin Salunke, Bikash Munde and Rahul Bodu of Maharashtra along with Khan in December last for smuggling cannabis. Police recovered 108 kg cannabis from them and seized three four-wheelers from the spot.

For the inter-State drug peddlers, Malkangiri is becoming happy hunting ground for cannabis cultivation. The smugglers contact small farmers for growing ganja before transporting it to States such as Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. Khan was living in Nabarangpur in the guise of a small-time contractor.

Most drug peddlers approach farmers of the district through middle-men and fund cultivation of cannabis. The money is paid after the produce is procured. The illegal trade starts mostly in January and lasts till June, police sources said.

The business is alluring. One kg of cannabis is procured for a meagre Rs 1,000 and  sold to wholesalers in Madhya Pradesh for Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000. The price jumps to Rs 15,000 in Delhi. Eventually, when it reaches the customers, the price touches a whopping Rs 25,000 per kg.

Cannabis is mostly transported by trucks and mini-trucks. The drug peddlers use  Jeypore, Chitrakonda and Sukma routes.

Malkangiri police says intense crackdown has put the trade on check and severely affected businesses. “The drug peddlers are being nabbed and their businesses have taken a hit. They are also not able to pay a lucrative price to farmers anymore. The farmers are now opting for cultivation of other crops,” Meena said.

Alluring trade Ganja trade is alluring

• One kg of cannabis is procured for a meagre Rs 1,000 and sold to wholesalers in Madhya Pradesh for Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000

• The price jumps to Rs 15,000 in Delhi

• When it reaches the customers, the price touches a whopping Rs 25,000 per kg

• Cannabis is mostly transported by trucks and mini-trucks