A 55-year-old man from Odisha was arrested on Sunday in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district on charges of smuggling 171 pieces of rough diamonds valued at Rs 25 lakh.
Gairaband Additional Superintendent of Police Sukhnandan Rathore told The Pioneer over telephone that Nutan Patel, a resident of Nuapada district in Odisha, was carrying the diamonds.
He was arrested in Kaetpadar village bordering Odisha, Rathore added.
On receiving a tip that the accused was heading towards Odisha via Payalikhand (Jugad) to sell rough diamonds, a team of the police in Gariaband swung into action, he said.
Also seized was a motorcycle from him.
Prima facie, it seems he had illegally brought the diamonds from the diamond-rich belt of Gariaband’s Deobhog area, the officer said.
Deobhog is located around 200 km from Raipur.