Balasore: Excise sleuths seized brown sugar weighing around 1 kg and arrested three drug peddlers during a series of raids in Odisha’s Balasore district on Wednesday, reports said.
Acting on a tip off, the excise officials carried out simultaneous raids at some locations in Jaleswar area of the district and seized the contraband brown sugar weighing nearly 1 kg, they said.
Three drug peddlers were also arrested during the operation. Several other materials were also recovered from the possession of the three.
While the identity of the accused persons was not immediately known, one of them was stated to be the kingpin of the racket in the area.
The seized brown sugar was allegedly smuggled into Odisha from neighbouring West Bengal. The market value of the seized brown sugar was estimated at around Rs 1 crore, sources said.
While a case has been registered under the NDPS Act, 1985, further investigation is on and efforts are on to ascertain whether others are involved in the drug racket.
