Raipur: Mahasamund district in Chhattisgarh has emerged as a major transit route for ganja smuggling from Odisha to consumer markets hundreds of kilometres away in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and beyond.
According to Chhattisgarh police, nearly 10 tonnes of ganja worth Rs 50 crore were intercepted in Mahasamund district in the first nine months of 2026. The seizures involved 177 cases, with police arresting 501 people and 70 other accused absconding.
The origin-and-destination data offers a revealing map of map of the ganja trade. “Virtually all the seized consignments were traced to Odisha, with Kalahandi alone accounting for 2,679 kg, followed by Kandhamal at 2,153kg, Boudh at 1,177kg, Rayagada at 950kg, Sonepur at 872kg and Balangir at 791kg,” Mahasamund SP Prabhat Kumar was quoted as saying by TOI.
Where was it going? “Maharashtra dominates the destination chart: 4,511kg, or nearly half the seized quantity, was allegedly headed there. Uttar Pradesh accounted for another 2,263kg and Madhya Pradesh 1,223kg. Smaller consignments were traced towards Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana,” the SP informed.
Both Ends of the Chain
Police said their investigation has increasingly moved beyond the driver or courier caught with the consignment.
Of the 501 people arrested, 289 were transporters or carriers. Another 145 were arrested in Odisha as part of “backward linkage” investigations aimed at tracing the source, while arrests were also made on the “forward linkage” side to identify intended recipients.
The interstate nature of the network is reflected in the arrests: 162 accused were from Odisha, 138 from Chhattisgarh, 103 from Maharashtra, 73 from Madhya Pradesh and 54 from Uttar Pradesh, according to police data.
Modus Operandi
Consignments were allegedly moved in buses and trains, trucks and pickups, motorcycles, courier vehicles and ambulances. Ganja was found concealed under fruits and vegetables, inside customised container chambers and among packers-and-movers consignments.
Vehicles worth around Rs 10 crore were seized in these cases.
Role of Women
Women have also surfaced repeatedly in ganja cases this year, not just as accompanying passengers but as accused carriers. In one case in May, police arrested two women and two men travelling on motorcycles in an alleged Odisha-linked supply chain; other seizures have also involved women in larger interstate consignments.
Police have additionally flagged cases where the presence of women and children was used to make drug runs appear like routine family travel and avoid suspicion.