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Balasore: In what could be termed as one of the biggest drug hauls in recent times, the Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha Crime Branch seized brown sugar worth Rs 1.30 crore from a peddler in Balasore district.
A six-member team of the STF arrested the accused from the bus stand area in Balasore town last night and seized the cache of narcotics weighing 1.325 kg.
The accused, identified as Sheikh Riazuddin, is a resident of Machuapada and a student pursuing MBA in Bhubaneswar.
Following his arrest, the accused has been brought to Bhubaneswar for interrogation by the STF. The Crime Branch is trying to find out the source of the brown sugar, kingpin of the racket and the receiver who was supposed to get the contraband supply from the middleman.
According to sources, the accused will be taken to Balasore again and his relatives will be brought under the purview of investigation.
In the last couple of years, Balasore has turned into a hotbed of brown sugar trade. As far the latest catch is concerned, it is learnt that the contraband is being procured from Murshidabad in West Bengal and supplied to Bhubaneswar and other parts of the State.
The rampant smuggling of the narcotics amid Covid pandemic has also brought the role of police under scanner. Recently, an audio clip had gone viral in which Dhaneswar Sahu, the Inspector-In-Charge of Jaleswar Police Station, was heard threatening brother of a drugs peddler for money.The police official was subsequently placed under suspension by the State Director General of Police.
According to sources, from March 2020 till date, the Crime Branch has seized more than 15.8 kg of brown sugar. Though it is seen as a success on part of the Crime Branch, questions are being raised as to why the law enforcement authorities are failing to put a brake on the illicit trade.
“On the basis of intelligence inputs that a drug dealer was selling brown sugar in the bus stand area, a raid was conducted by the STF and the accused was arrested. The drug and other incriminating articles were seized from him,” said STF SP Prashant Kumar Bhoi.
"Preliminary investigation suggests that the accused is a third year MBA student in a management College in Bhubaneswar. As the college is closed in view of Covid-19, he returned to his village and involved in drug trade. Other aspects of the case is under investigation,” he added.
(Edited By Suryakant Jena)
Read More: Police-Mafia Link Behind Brown Sugar Trade In Odisha?
https://youtu.be/J0gzfxCj1no
