B.Tech student caught selling brown sugar

Bhubaneswar: Continuing its crackdown on illegal drug trade, the Excise officials arrested a B.Tech student of a private university for selling brown sugar near Big Bazaar area in Patia of Bhubaneswar today.

Acting on a tip-off, the sleuths caught the youth, identified as Biswajit Swain of Jagatsinghpur while he was trying to sell the contraband item to prospective customers. A packet containing 60 grams of brown sugar worth Rs 6 lakh and a motorcycle were seized from his possession.

Police said that it will intensify its surveillance in this connection to keep an eye on youths who are increasingly getting attracted towards this anti-social activity.

“As youths are getting involved in trading of the contraband items, we will conduct more raids in coming days to nab others accused. Usually peddlers get drugs from Jaleswar and Balasore area and sell them at higher prices in Bhubaneswar, said Baijayanti Panda, IIC, Excise Intelligence (Central).

“I used to get the brown sugar from Khurda in large quantity at Rs 4,000-5,000," said the accused.

Earlier this month, officials of the Excise Department had seized brown sugar worth Rs 38 lakh from Chintamaniswar and Haldipadia area in Bhubaneswar and arrested three persons including two women in this connection.