Bhubaneswar: Excise Department sleuths arrested three drug peddlers and seized over 300 grams of brown sugar from them during an operation in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of Excise department officials conducted raid at a place in Kalpana Square area of the city and caught three persons while they were striking a deal for disposal of the contraband, sources said.
The team seized around 300 grams of brown sugar from the trio. A two-wheeler was also seized from the site. The value of the seized brown sugar was estimated to be around Rs 30 lakh.
Two of the accused persons, who belong to Jatani area in Khurda district, are stated to be habitual offenders. They were earlier in jail several times for brown sugar smuggling.
The three arrested persons were interrogated by the Excise department sleuths in order to extract information about their smuggling network. Further investigation is in progress, the sources added.
