Police seized 188 kg of ganja worth Rs 2 crore and arrested three persons for transporting it from Gajapati district to outside the State at two different places on Sunday evening.
Besides, the police also seized two vans which were used to carry the contraband.
A team of Mohana police led by IIC Sujit Nayak and a team of Adaba police led by IIC Ajay Barik conducted raids at Atharnala and Gundima Chhak, respectively, and made the seizures and arrests on Sunday night. The arrested were identified as Jagannath Sahu, a local man, and Chandan Kumar and Jaya Kumar of Bihar.
Sources said illegal trade of ganja is rampant in Gajapati as the contraband has a high demand outside the State and fetches good profit to illegal traders.
While a kg of ganja is procured between Rs 3, 000 to Rs 5,000 per kg in Gajapati, it is sold between Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000 outside the State.
Locals have demanded that the police and the excise departments conduct more raids and stop the illegal trade of ganja soon.