STF seizes brown sugar worth Rs 1 crore in Odisha; 1 held 

A Special Task Force (STF) team of the Odisha police Crime Branch seized 1100 grams of brown sugar from Simar-Banki road near Ostapur in Khordha district on Saturday night. The team also arrested a drug peddler from the spot. 

The accused has been identified as Suresh Mahapatra alias Suria. He will be produced in the court of District and Sessions Judge, Khordha. 

While addressing a press conference, SP of STF KK Panigrahi informed about the crackdown. 

“Yesterday, we received a tip-off that a brown sugar deal was going to happen near Ostapur. An STF team along with a team of Khordha police went to the spot. A person riding a motorcycle arrived to strike the deal. Before the deal could be finalised, the police team overpowered him. Brown sugar weighing 1100 grams, a Royal Enfield motorcycle and a mobile phone was seized from his possession,” informed Panigrahi.

“Since 2020, we have so far seized 70 kilograms of brown sugar, 202 grams of cocaine, 113 quintals of ganja and 750 grams of opium. We have arrested 170 peddlers. This drive will continue,” Panigrahi added. 

During the investigation, the Crime Branch came to know that Suresh used to go to Murshidabad to procure brown sugar. Then he would transport it to different districts by engaging some peddlers. In return, the peddlers would get commissions from Suresh. 

The Crime Branch have plans to take Suresh on remand so that they can unearth the entire racket.