Police in Odisha’s Malkangiri district have made a seizure of around Rs 7.5 crore worth of hashish oil, a highly concentrated form of cannabis banned under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act), in the last three months, with the seizure of such a potent narcotic substance said to be the biggest in the country.
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Police in Odisha’s Malkangiri district have made a seizure of around Rs 7.5 crore worth of hashish oil, a highly concentrated form of cannabis banned under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act), in the last three months, with the seizure of such a potent narcotic substance said to be the biggest in the country.
The seizure follows an intense crackdown on cannabis in the district, which is widely regarded as the gateway to interstate cannabis smuggling activities.
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Hashish oil is an oleoresin obtained by the extraction of cannabis. It is a cannabis concentrate containing many of its resins and terpenes—in particular, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), and other cannabinoids. The oil is usually consumed by smoking, vaporizing or eating, said police.
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Following the recent intensive crackdown on cannabis (locally called ganja cultivation), destruction, and seizures, Malkangiri Police have now intensified enforcement against hashish oil and busted a hashish oil manufacturing unit on Monday and apprehended interstate smugglers operating in the district. The racket was operating in the Chitrakonda police limits.
Two kilograms of hashish oil valued at Rs 25 lakh in the black market and 3.1 kilograms of ganja were seized from the underground unit, said Malkangiri Superintendent of Police Vinod Patil.
The hashish oil unit comprised machinery including an iron-made machine fitted with a cylindrical processing container, a pressure cooker, an iron-made compressor, a gas burner fitted with a pipe, a cylinder, and plastic drums. Further investigation is in progress to trace forward and backward linkages of the interstate network.
A total of 31 tonnes of cannabis were seized in the district in 2025, while 22 tonnes of such banned substances were confiscated in 2024. To date, as many as 1,282 acres of cannabis cultivation have been destroyed.
Zero tolerance is being adopted against ganja cultivation, ganja smuggling, and hashish oil manufacturing and trafficking, SP added.
The contraband smuggled from different parts, mostly from Malkangiri district, makes its way to the southern and northern parts of the country by a well-oiled racket of middlemen. The large quantity of seizures in the recent past put Malkangiri on the pedestal of the State’s largest ganja-producing district. The contraband is smuggled to various destinations either by road or rail, according to official sources.
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