The Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha Crime Branch police on Tuesday busted an interstate drug peddling racket by arresting two drug peddlers and confiscating brown sugar worth over Rs one crore.
The drug peddlers identified as Ashok Kumar Behera and Bijoy Kumar Yadav were nabbed with the banned substances near the vegetable market in Naya Bazar under Sahadevkhunta police station area in Balasore district. While Behera was a native of Balasore, Yadav hailed from Katihar police station area in Bihar.
A haul of 1.052 kilograms of brown sugar valued at over Rs one crore was seized from their possession.
During preliminary investigation, it has been established that it was an interstate drug peddling racket as the drug was being smuggled to Bihar, said Deputy Inspector General of Police, STF, Jay Narayan Pankaj.
The STF is continuing its well-orchestrated operation on drug peddlers across the State. And that is paying rich dividends. In the past 22 months, the STF has seized 43 kilograms of brown sugar. The seized narcotic substances would have fetched the drug peddlers nearly Rs 43 crore in black market.
Besides, around 87 quintals of cannabis were also seized during the period by STF with over 100 drug peddlers put behind bars.
The banned substances are making their way to Odisha from Murshidabad in West Bengal. Balasore district bordering Bengal has become the gateway to drug peddling networks in the State. The source point of brown sugar trade in the State owes its origin to Murshidabad, the officials confided.