Bhubaneswar: The Special Task Force (STF) of the State CID, Crime Branch on Tuesday arrested a drug peddler from Khordha district following seizure of 302 grams brown sugar from his possession.
As per reports, the accused Akhay Baliarsingh was nabbed by a team of the STF while he was trying to strike a deal of the narcotics substance.
A case under section 21(c ), 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) has been registered against Baliarsingh at Jankia police station in Khordha, police said.
Reports suggest the Crime Branch STF has done a commendable job in the crackdown on rampant illegal narcotics trade in the State.
As per official sources, the STF has seized around 24 kgs of Brown Sugar in 26 cases registered in 2020. In its ongoing crackdown, the task force officials have arrested 50 drug traffickers from different parts of Odisha.
On November 7, the Special Task Force along with Balasore Police seized 1.105 kg brown sugar worth over Rs 1 crore following a raid at Sahadevkhunta area in Balasore district. Three drug peddlers – Sk Jamir alias Chhotu of Masjid Gali, Arada Bazar; Prabhat Sethy of Nayabazar; and Jasobant Bagh alias Sukuras of Kasimela, all said to be local residents were arrested.
On July 19, the STF achieved a major breakthrough in crackdown against illegal narcotics trade and seized nearly 4.5kg of heroin (brown sugar) from Rasulgarh area in Bhubaneswar. Three peddlers- Debasish Behera, SK Kausar Ali and Prabir Kumar Singh were arrested by STF in connection with the incident.
(Edited By Devbrat Patnaik)