Odishatv Bureau

Bhubaneswar: Two days after narcotics worth around Rs 3 lakh were seized from a slum in the city, excise sleuths today busted another drug racket and arrested two persons for possessing brown sugar worth lakhs of rupees.

Acting on a tip off, officials of excise department raided a house at Haladipadia slum under Laxmisagar police limits and caught the duo and seized brown sugar weighing 36.65 gms worth around Rs 3 lakh. The two accused have been identified as Pradip Pradhan (24) and Rabindra Pradhan alias Babu (19) both residents of Haladipadia. Officials also seized a TVS Apache bike from their possession.

What is shocking is that despite repeated raids by both the police and the excise department, the locals in the area continue with trading of the contraband item.

As many as ten youths have been apprehended for smuggling banned narcotics during the past one month.

This is the fifth such case of drug seizure in the city in the past one month, indicating rise in drug business in the capital especially in slum areas like Haladipadia which have become hub for the trade.

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A mother-son duo was arrested on June 27 with nearly 14 gms of brown sugar and cash amounting to Rs 1 lakh from Haladipadia area.

On July 12 , the excise sleuths had arrested two persons and seized 45 gms of brown sugar  while unearthing a similar drug racket from Samantarapur area.

Five days later, brown sugar weighing 300 grams worth around Rs 30 lakh was seized while being smuggled in a car from Jaleswar to Bhubaneswar. Four persons were arrested in the case.

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