Brown sugar worth Rs 1 crore seized, 1 held in Balasore

Balasore: In a major breakthrough, Central Excise and Intelligence and Enforcement Bureau and Balasore unit seized brown sugar weighing around 1kg and arrested a drug peddler Sk Rafik (28) here on Sunday.

The crackdown came after OTV in a sting operation had exposed rampant narcotics trade that was flourishing in Balasore district due to unbridled nexus between dealers and corrupt officials in a report in April.

According to reports, Rafik was arrested soon after he arrived at his house at Arad Bazar area from Kolkatta at around 6:30 am today.

Also Read: Balasore, Odisha’s narcotic haven: OTV Exclusive

Excise officials said, Rafik was actively involved in illicit narcotics trade for the past couple of years and special teams were closely tracking his movements.

Earlier, a sting operation by OTV found that dealers were procuring the white powder from several agents in West Bengal and smuggled into Odisha via Kharagpur and Kolkata.

Rafik used to procure brown sugar from Kolkatta and used to supply to several other dealers and agents in different parts of Odisha.

Following the special report, the Balasore police as well as Excise officials had seized over 45 grams of brown sugar and arrested 3 persons in raids at different places.