214 kg ganja seized from secret chamber of pickup van in Odisha’s Koraput

Bhubaneswar: Police seized 214 kg of ganja concealed in a secret chamber of a pickup van and arrested one person near Hanumal village in Odisha’s Koraput district, officials said on Monday.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of Machhkund police intercepted the vehicle near Hanumal village and conducted a search. During the inspection, police detected a specially created concealed chamber inside the vehicle and recovered the ganja packed inside it.

The consignment was allegedly being transported from Malkangiri towards another state through the Machhkund route.

Police arrested Rinku Pangi, a resident of Baddural village under Mudulipada police station in Malkangiri, in connection with the seizure. Further investigation is underway to identify the source of the contraband, its intended destination and other members of the alleged trafficking network.

The seizure comes barely days after Koraput police recovered 128.3 kg of ganja concealed in a secret chamber of a goods vehicle in Sunki Ghati on September 25. The vehicle was allegedly carrying the consignment towards Andhra Pradesh, and its driver and helper were detained.

The latest haul also comes against the backdrop of a sharp rise in ganja seizures across Odisha. Enforcement agencies seized 2,213 quintals of ganja between January and July this year, surpassing the 1,980 quintals seized during the whole of 2025. The state recorded 1,500 cases under the NDPS Act during the first seven months of 2026.

Southern Odisha continues to remain a major source and transit zone for cannabis trafficking. In 2024, Malkangiri alone reported more than 221 quintals of ganja seizures, while Kandhamal and Boudh also recorded large seizures.

With traffickers increasingly using specially modified vehicles and concealed chambers, enforcement agencies have stepped up surveillance along key routes in Koraput and neighbouring districts.