40 arrested; 2 NDPS cases booked including a major ganja racket busted in Ganjam
Bhubaneswar: On the fourteenth day of the Enforcement Special Drive, excise officials across Odisha reported seizures worth nearly ₹1.45 crore, reflecting the department’s intensified crackdown on illicit liquor and narcotics trade. A total of 167 cases were detected, leading to 40 arrests. Teams seized 12,388 bulk litres of illicitly distilled liquor, 328 bulk litres of duty-paid liquor, and destroyed more than 1,16,975 litres of wash. Around 5,720 kilograms of mohua flowers were also confiscated, along with 21 vehicles engaged in illegal transportation.
Significantly, two NDPS cases were booked during the drive. In a major breakthrough, the Enforcement Intelligence & Enforcement Bureau (Southern Division) busted a racket near Balisira Chhak, Aska in Ganjam district. Officials arrested six bootleggers from Kandhamal, seizing 50 kilograms of ganja, an Innova car, two Pulsar motorcycles used for trafficking, and five Android mobile phones. Investigators believe the consignment was routed from Baliguda to Bhubaneswar, with more arrests expected.
In another NDPS case, enforcement teams recovered 85 grams of heroin, further tightening the state’s grip on drug networks.Excise officials reiterated that the department is pursuing a zero-tolerance policy against all forms of illicit trade and assured that sustained enforcement will continue in the coming days.
