Police and Excise personnel in a joint raid near Dhadiamba village of Mohana block in Gajapati district on Tuesday destroyed 50 lakh ganja plants worth Rs 5 crore, cultivated in an area of 24 acre.
The raid was carried out on the instructions of district Collector Sudhansu Mohan Samal. However, no one was arrested as the culprits involved in the ganja cultivation fled from the spot.
In the last two three months, ganja cultivations in about 1,000 acre of forestland worth crores of rupees have been destroyed in the district.
But the powerful ganja mafias involved in the trade have managed to elude the police dragnet, sources said.