Illegal firecrackers worth over Rs 10 Lakh seized during raid in Odisha’s Balasore

Jaleswar: An illegal firecracker manufacturing unit was raided today and different crackers worth more than Rs 10 lakh was seized at Salikotha village under Jaleswar police limits in Balasore district.

Acting on a tip-off that the illegal manufacturing unit was operational in the locality for long days, a local police team raided a house in the village leading to the seizure of the huge cache of firecrackers.

“Approximate value of the seized firecrackers in the open market would be around Rs 10 lakh,” a senior official in the raid team expressed.

According to police sources, a villager named Barun Jena is the owner of the illegal unit. He used to sell the manufactured firecrackers to different traders from Odisha and outside. A huge cache of crackers was stacked by Barun keeping in mind the market demand during Dussehra Puja and Diwali.

The 20-member police team led by SDPO Dilip Sahu conducted the raid. The illegal unit owner Barun has been detained for interrogation and a detailed investigation is underway.