In a major success in the drive against the clandestine drug trade in the State, the Special Task Force (STF) of Crime Branch seized a huge quantity of brown sugar and arrested three drug dealers in the Jaleswar area of Baleswar district on Friday.
The market value of the seized contraband weighing 2 kg is around Rs 2 crore, STF DIG Jay Narayan Pankaj said.
“We have arrested three persons, who were involved in the illegal trade. The trio are natives of Baleswar district,” Pankaj said.
From the quantity of the contraband recovered from the trio, it becomes clear that they were not the retailers but were trading wholesale. It’s too early to determine their modus operandi as the investigation is at preliminary stage, Pankaj added.Not only the STF but the Odisha Police has also intensified the anti-narcotics crackdown across the State. “We have already seized 33 kg brown sugar and 66 quintal ganja and arrested several peddlers since we launched our special drive in 2020,” he added.
Refuting the notion that lockdown, shutdowns would help the smugglers, he clarified that the curfew had no impact on smuggling of brown sugar as transportation of small quantities are easier unlike ganja which is trafficked in bulk quantities.
He hoped that smuggling activities would reduce further in the coming days due to frequent crackdown against drug peddling. “Moreover, we will also get cooperation from our West Bengal counterparts once the Covid-19 restrictions are eased. The drive can be expedited further,” he added.
In May, the STF had nabbed two drug peddlers and seized a huge quantity of brown sugar worth over Rs 1 crore from the Sahadevkhunta area in the Baleswar district. During the search, brown sugar weighing 1.36 kg, a stolen bike without registration number was seized from their possession.