Brown sugar worth Rs 24 lakh seized in Khurda; 1 arrested

Khurda: The Excise department officials today arrested a person from Khurda after seizing 120 grams brown sugar and cash worth Rs 48,000 from his possession.

While the value of the contraband is estimated to be Rs 24 lakh, the arrested has been identified as Dhaneswar Pradhan, police sources said.

This apart, the officials also seized huge amount of liquor after conducting raids in Banpur and Balugaon areas. Three persons have been arrested in this connection, said an official.

According to sources, the raids were conducted as per the direction of Khurda district collector Nirmal Chandra Mishra. "We have seized brown sugar during raids and this operation will continue in the upcoming days as well," Mishra said.

This is not the first incident of brown sugar seizure in Odisha. Earlier this month, the Central Excise (intelligence) officials had busted a racket that was being run by several persons on ‘partnership’ basis. Brown sugar weighing nearly 300 grams was seized while it was being smuggled in a car from Jaleswar to Bhubaneswar.