Brown sugar worth over Rs 1 crore seized near Ansupa lake

The Special Task Force (STF) seized brown sugar worth over Rs 1 crore following a raid near Anuspa lake under Banki police limits in Cuttack district, senior officials said on Sunday.

As per STF, two drug peddlers- Jumesh Kumar Sahoo and Hemant Kumar Pradhan have been arrested during the raid following the assistance of Cuttack district police on Saturday evening. Brown sugar weighing more than 1 Kg 335 gram (1335 gm), one car and other incriminating materials have been recovered and seized from the possession of both the accused who have been booked under section 21(c)/29 of NDPS Act 1985.

It may recalled that the STF recently nabbed a notorious drug peddler and seized 2.2 kg of brown sugar worth Rs 2 crore from his possession. The peddler arrested from near Khordha-Jatni bypass, was identified as Rakesh Samantaray, alias Raka.

Senior STF officials said already a special drive against narcotic drugs is continuing in the state. Since 2020, the STF has seized more than 65 Kg of Brown Sugar/Heroin, 202 Gram Cocaine and more than 111 quintals of Ganja/Marijuna, Opium 750 grams in separate incidents. Over 165 drug dealers/peddlers have been arrested in connection with the illegal trade so far.