Odisha: Brown sugar worth over Rs 1 cr seized from vegetable market; 2 held

Balasore: Continuing its drive against drug smuggling, the Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha Crime Branch seized brown sugar worth over Rs 1 crore from a vegetable market at Nayabazar under Sahadevkhunta police limits in Balasore district on Sunday.

On the basis of intelligence input, a STF team from Bhubaneswar conducted a crackdown near the vegetable market and nabbed two drug peddlers–Ashok Behera alias Bapi of Nayabazar and Bijay Kumar Yadav, who hails from Aaraa in Patna district of Bihar and stays at Ranipatna in Balasore district.

During search, 1.052 kg brown sugar and other incriminating materials were recovered and seized from their possession. Later, both were arrested and produced before Special Judge-cum-District Sessions Judge Court after they failed to produce valid documents in support of possession of the contraband items.

A case has been registered at STF police station under Sections 21(C)/29 of NDPS Act 1985 and further investigation is underway.

The STF has so far seized over 43 kg brown sugar and more than 86 quintal ganja, besides arresting over a hundred drug dealers since 2020, said official sources.