9 persons arrested, 546 kg of ganja seized

Nine persons have been arrested for allegedly smuggling ganja and over 546 kg of the contraband seized from them in Odisha's Malkangiri district, a senior police officer said Monday.

The nine accused persons, all from neighbouring Nabarangpur district, were carrying the ganja in slings when they were nabbed on Sunday, the officer said.

Acting on a tip-off, police personnel launched an operation and spotted the smugglers near the banks of a river at Kaudiguda, Malkangiri Superintendent of Police Jagmohan Meena said.

Seeing the policemen, the ganja smugglers tried to flee and nine of them were nabbed, he said.

The accused persons had procured the contraband from Chitrakonda area and were on their way to Nabarangpur to sell the contraband at a higher price, he said.

Efforts are on the arrest the others involved in the racket, the SP said.