Sambalpur: Five persons were arrested and 5,100 bottles of Eskuf cough syrup seized from them in a special operation by the police in Odisha’s Sambalpur district on Tuesday.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of Bareipali Police Station intercepted a vehicle near Mesinkata Chowk and apprehended five accused persons allegedly transporting cough syrup.
The five accused have been identified as Lokesh Pradhan alias Akash, Mahindra Kisan alias Mathu, Prabhat Bhoi alias Titu, Amod Karali, and Manish Singh.
Sources said the police team seized two vehicles and 17 sealed plastic jerry packets containing the banned cough syrup bottles, each of 100 ml capacity.
Preliminary investigation showed that Lokesh Pradhan had collected money from several local peddlers to purchase cough syrup. The money was handed over to one Chandra Sekhar Naik of Pardhiapali, who reportedly transferred the amount via UPI to a drug dealer in Cuttack.
Police suspect the syndicate was planning to circulate the cough syrup in Sambalpur town during the upcoming festive season.
The Eskuf syrup, which contains codeine phosphate, is often misused as an intoxicant and is regulated under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
Further investigation is underway to identify other members involved and trace the supply chain.
