Police nabbed eight ganja smugglers and seized around 109 kg of the contraband from two vehicles in the Balimela area in Malkangiri district on Monday night.
The eight accused identified as Mobarak Khan, Krishan Kashayap, Sachin Salenku, Rajesh Patnaik, Bikash Munde, Sabir Bisoi, Kashinath Begal, and Rahul Badu were forwarded to court, police said on Tuesday.
While Malkangiri police apprehended seven peddlers, later the Nabarangpur police arrested the kingpin of the gang Mobarak Khan, from Umerkote area.
A police team led by SDPO Manas Ranjan Barik and DSP Dilip Das carried a search operation in the districts and arrested the smugglers.
With this seizure, the Malkangiri police have so far seized 82 tonne of contraband and registered 17 cases with the arrest of 180 persons.
Besides, 83 vehicles used for the ganja transportation have been seized and over 600 hectares of ganja plantation has been destroyed by the district police, informed Malkangiri SP Jagmohan Meena.