Bhubaneswar: Seizure of smuggled gold worth nearly Rs 9 crore by directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) in Visakhapatnam on Friday has brought enforcement gaps in Odisha back into focus — the contraband was allegedly transported through nearly 450 km in Odisha without local agencies detecting it.DRI arrested two men for allegedly carrying 5,832 grams of 24-carat foreign-origin gold biscuits, worth around Rs 8.98 crore, in a car from Kolkata to Hyderabad via Odisha on NH-16. According to DRI, gold was smuggled into India through India-Bangladesh border and was being transported to Hyderabad from Kolkata when it was intercepted in Visakhapatnam.The development came after chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sept 10 directed the state police and special task force to step up vigilance and ensure Odisha does not become a transit corridor for interstate smuggling and trafficking. His concerns followed mysterious discovery of five baby orangutans in Balasore district, a case suspected to be linked to an international exotic wildlife trafficking network with authorities suspecting Odisha was used as a transit corridor to transport animals to elsewhere in the country.The seizure has triggered questions over surveillance of highways and transit routes passing through Odisha. While the journey between Kolkata and Visakhapatnam spans about 880 km, the accused reportedly covered nearly half that distance within Odisha before being intercepted.S K Pani, a retired DSP, questioned the effectiveness of highway patrolling and naka checking, saying smugglers managed to travel through Odisha for hours without raising any suspicion. “Our agencies seem to have been caught napping. The fact that the consignment traversed a long stretch of the state without detection points to gaps in surveillance and intelligence gathering. There is a pressing need for stronger intelligence networks, closer coordination among enforcement agencies and more focused monitoring of vulnerable transit corridors to prevent such incidents,” he said.Odisha police, however, rejected allegations of laxity and said enforcement operations are largely intelligence-based. Police officers argued that different agencies, including state police, develop their own sources and act on specific inputs.“No police force can physically screen every vehicle on a busy national highway. Successful interceptions are usually driven by actionable intelligence. Nevertheless, incidents like these help identify vulnerabilities, and we would continue to strengthen monitoring and coordination with other agencies,” said an Odisha police officer.