Bhubaneswar: Police on Wednesday detained two youths and seized ganja weighing around 25kg near Dhauli.

The police said both the accused, Rajkumar Thakuri, 28, and Nirakar Mohanty, 25, were nabbed while transporting the contraband from the Baramunda bus terminal. They had procured it from Kandhamal and transported it by bus.

The police said the peddlers were using public transport, mostly private buses, to carry the contraband to Bhubaneswar. "In recent past, we have arrested several ganja peddlers from the Baramunda bus stand. The peddlers are now using costly cars to smuggle ganja to avoid suspicion," said a police official.

Sale of ganja in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar has gone up despite police crackdown. According to statistics, ganja weighing 451kg had been seized in 2016 in the twin cities while it went up to 585kg by the end of October last.