Koraput: Odisha Police has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate a major hashish oil trade racket busted in Koraput district, where narcotics worth Rs 225 crore were seized recently.
In a high-risk operation, police arrested six people, including the alleged kingpin of an interstate hashish oil syndicate, within 30 hours of raiding a remote island in the Jolaput reservoir on February 26. The raid dismantled a sophisticated, makeshift hashish oil manufacturing unit hidden in a dense forest along the Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border.
The police seized 1,800.5 litres of hashish oil (worth over Rs 225 crore) and 1,000 kg of ganja (valued at around Rs 5 crore). They also recovered a laboratory setup, including a 28 KV generator, modified pressure cookers, and storage drums.
“The accused tried to escape into the forest, but we sealed all escape routes and deployed drones to track their movement,” said DIG (South-Western Range) Kanwar Vishal Singh. One accused was caught on the spot, while others were arrested later.
