Bhubaneswar: Odisha police have drawn up plans to create a dedicated anti-narcotics task force (ANTF) under the leadership of an ADG, said DGP Y B Khurania on Wednesday. The proposed specialised wing will exclusively investigate narcotics-related offences.As part of the proposal, 10 police stations will be set up in different districts to register and probe drug cases, ensuring focused action against trafficking networks statewide. “We have sent a proposal to the govt to establish ANTF for a fully focused approach against narcotics, illegal cannabis cultivation and drug trafficking. While 10 police stations will exclusively register and investigate drug cases, we also plan to set up 19 intelligence units across the state to track smugglers,” DGP Khurania said at an event in Bhubaneswar, marking the pre-trial disposal of ganja and brown sugar.Police said the creation of such a wing is imperative as Odisha has long been notorious as a source state for traffickers, with consignments frequently intercepted en route to other states. Ganja was once widely cultivated in hilly and forested areas of at least 12 districts — Koraput, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Gajapati, Boudh, Kandhamal, Angul, Dhenkanal, Sambalpur, Deogarh, Bargarh and Bolangir. With the decline of Left-wing Extremism, cultivation has shrunk to a few districts, with Kandhamal and Boudh remaining the worst affected.The DGP said hotspot districts vulnerable to trafficking of ganja, brown sugar and banned cough syrups have been mapped, and district-specific action plans are being prepared to dismantle syndicates.As per the mapping, Boudh, Kandhamal, Gajapati, Koraput, Malkangiri and Rayagada are prone to ganja cultivation and transport; Balasore is notorious for brown sugar; while Sambalpur and Bargarh are hubs for cough syrup smuggling.According to DIG (special task force) Kanwar Vishal Singh, between July 2024 and March 2026, enforcement drives destroyed more than 63,720 acres of cannabis cultivation worth an estimated Rs 1,911 crore. During the same period, 2,445 cases were registered, leading to the seizure of 421 tonnes of cannabis valued at Rs 2,106 crore and the arrest of 3,502 traffickers.“Such enforcement scale is the highest in the country,” DGP Khurania said, while virtually launching anti-drug pledge ceremonies at over 550 police stations across all 35 police districts. More than 25,000 people, including students and teachers, took the pledge.
