Bhubaneswar: In a major anti-narcotics crackdown, police in Malkangiri have dismantled a mobile hashish oil manufacturing unit in the Chitrakonda area, seizing contraband, precursor chemicals and equipment estimated to be worth around ₹100 crore.
The operation followed specific intelligence inputs received over the past few days regarding the activities of a suspected drug trafficking syndicate operating in the region. According to officials, the group had been using a mobile manufacturing setup and frequently shifting locations to evade detection amid intensified police surveillance and repeated raids.
The breakthrough came early Sunday morning when a police team led by SDPO Chitrakonda Pradosh Pradhan intercepted a suspicious vehicle near Essar Chhak under Chitrakonda police limits on the road leading towards Sileru. The operation was conducted under the supervision of the Superintendent of Police, Malkangiri.
During the search, police recovered approximately 800 litres of chemical precursors and solvents used in the production of high-potency hashish oil. Officials said the seized materials could have yielded an equivalent quantity of the drug, with an estimated market value of nearly ₹100 crore.
In addition to the precursors, 50 kg of ganja and 2 litres of finished hashish oil were seized. A fully functional mobile manufacturing unit, equipped with specialised extraction machinery, was also recovered from the vehicle and subsequently confiscated.
The vehicle, bearing an Andhra Pradesh registration number, was found fitted with a forged number plate and has been impounded. However, the driver managed to flee into the nearby dense forest, taking advantage of the difficult terrain.
Preliminary investigations indicate that an organised interstate syndicate was attempting to establish a hashish oil production unit in the Chitrakonda area. However, sustained police pressure and continuous vigilance appear to have disrupted their plans, forcing them to operate in a mobile format.
Police have formed multiple specialised teams to track down the absconding driver, identify other members of the syndicate, verify the vehicle’s details, and investigate interstate backward and forward linkages, including the source of raw materials and the intended destination of the contraband.
The latest seizure comes in the backdrop of a similar major crackdown earlier this year in Koraput district. In February, Odisha Police uncovered a large cannabis oil manufacturing network near the Jalaput Reservoir under Padua police limits, close to the Odisha–Andhra Pradesh border. The operation, carried out under the state’s anti-drug initiative “Nishamukta Odisha Abhiyan”, led to the seizure of contraband valued at over ₹200 crore.
That operation was conducted by a special team under the supervision of senior police officials, highlighting a coordinated effort to dismantle illegal drug production and trafficking networks in southern Odisha. Officials say the recent back-to-back successes underline the intensified enforcement drive against narcotics in the region. Further investigation into the Malkangiri case is currently underway.
