Notorious ganja peddler Kabul Khara was nabbed after an encounter with police near Hatisala Chhak of Jeypore town in the district early on Wednesday morning.
Acting on a tipoff, the Jeypore Town police had tried to intercept Khara. But spotting the police, he fired two rounds in a bid to escape from the spot.
But the police team retaliated and fired three rounds in which Khara sustained injuries on his left leg and was nabbed.
He was rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital in a critical condition.
A 7mm pistol was recovered from his possession and a Maruti Swift car was also seized from the encounter spot.
A dreaded criminal, Khara operated a ganja syndicate from outside the State through a gang of criminals and was wanted in more than five cases in Jeypore Town, Jeypore Sadar, Borigumma and Nabarangpur, police said.
Jeypore SDPO Sagarika Nath said Khara would be forwarded to court and later police would take him on remand to unearth more information about his ganja syndicate.