Bhubaneswar (SunstarTV Bureau): A huge cache of ganja worth Rs 3.5 crore was seized by the Anti Narcotics Cell on Saturday from Mumbai, which reportedly being smuggled in an auto-rickshaw from Odisha.
The police also arrested two persons involved in this regard while Lakshmi Pradhan, from Odisha, and the owner of the godown are absconding.
The contraband was being smuggled in Mumbai from Odisha in the truck, the official said, adding that Akash Yadav (25) and Dinesh Kumar Saroj (26) were arrested.
The kingpin of the inter-state smuggling racket is identified as Laxmikant Pradhan, a resident of Ganjam district in Odisha, the official said.
“Search operation underway to nab them,” one police spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, the contraband item weighing 1800 kg was taken to a godown at Vikhroli, informed sources. However, Cannabis used to be smuggled from Odisha and stored in the godown frequently.
Sources said around five to six tonnes of ganja are smuggled to Maharashtra from Odisha every month. The Mumbai police are in contact with Odisha police to nab Lakshmi Pradhan.
