Police arrested two persons in this connection and seized the vehicle which was carrying the contraband item.
The accused have been identified as Nageswar Gumpharay and Bhusan Gumpharay of Champaput village under Padua police station limits in the district.
Acting on a tip-off about the smuggling of ganja, Nandapur Police led by SDPO Sanjay Mohapatra set up nakabandi near Thumba village in the wee hours of today. When the police team tried to stop a speeding Pick-up van, the vehicle didn’t stop there and fled.
However, the police team chased the Andhra Pradesh registered Pick-up van for 2 km and stopped the vehicle. They detained two persons from the vehicle while two other persons, taking advantage of darkness, jumped off the vehicle and escaped.
While frisking the Pick-up van, the police team recovered 207 kg of ganja worth around Rs 20 lakh from the vehicle. Subsequently, the officials seized the ganja as well as the vehicle and arrested the accused duo after they failed to produce any documents for carrying the contraband.
The seized ganja was reportedly being smuggled from Padua area in Koraput district to outside the State.
The accused have been booked under the NDPS Act and investigation is underway to find out the locals involved in the illegal trade, Nandapur SDPO said.
