Six held as 199 acres of cannabis cleared across Kandhamal
A joint police, excise, revenue and forest drive destroyed about 199 acres of cannabis at six locations across Kandhamal district on 24 October 2026, using drones to find hidden plots. Six growers were arrested; interstate syndicate links are under investigation.
🇮🇳 Kandhamal district (Phulbani, Baliguda, Phiringia and four other areas) · India
- Arrested
- 6
- Hectares
- 80.5
A joint team of Kandhamal police, excise, revenue and forest officials destroyed cannabis plantations covering about 199 acres at six locations in the district on Saturday.[1] Six teams of 40 to 60 personnel each worked remote forests, hills and river valleys, using drone surveillance and aerial reconnaissance to find concealed plots.[1]
Superintendent Ramendra Prasad said the drive covered the Baliguda, Phiringia, Khajuripada, Tikabali, Tumudibandh and Gochhapada police jurisdictions, with Gochhapada alone accounting for about 55 acres, followed by Baliguda with 37 and Phiringia and Tikabali with 35 each.[1] Six men from the Baliguda, Phiringia and Khajuripada areas were apprehended: Chaitanya Rana, 44, Premananda Mallick, 37, Chitrasen Kanhar, 53, Pramod Pradhan, 49, Birendra Pradhan, 28, and Abhimanyu Nayak, 48.[1]
Cases were registered under the NDPS Act, and investigators are tracing interstate trafficking links, organised syndicates and financial backers behind the cultivation.[1]
Photos and video
- Aerial view of the hillside cannabis plots destroyed in the drive Photos: The New Indian Express
Sources
- Cannabis plantations spread across 199 acre destroyed in Odisha's Kandhamal district. The New Indian Express, 27 October 2026.