Big drug haul in Odisha as brown sugar worth Rs 3 crore, cash and firearms seized, one arrested

Some of Rao's associates managed to flee. STF officers suspect there are four to five more members in the gang. Efforts are on to nab them.
The STF has launched a special drive since 2020 against drug dealers/peddlers and arms suppliers in Odisha (Express Illustrations)
The STF has launched a special drive since 2020 against drug dealers/peddlers and arms suppliers in Odisha (Express Illustrations)

BHUBANESWAR: In a major drug haul, the Special Task Force (STF) of the Odisha Crime Branch arrested a brown sugar peddler and seized 3.1 kg worth over Rs 3 crore from him.

Acting on a tip-off, the STF conducted a raid at a rented house in Sinduria under Nayagarh Town police limits on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday and nabbed accused K Vickey Rao of Jatni.

Some of Rao's associates managed to flee. STF officers suspect there are four to five more members in the gang. Efforts are on to nab them.

Apart from the contraband, the agency's officers also seized Rs 65.32 lakh in cash, three 7 mm pistols, seven magazines, 43 rounds of ammunition, a cash counting machine and four mobile phones from him.

"We were keeping a surveillance on the gang's members and accordingly a raid was conducted. Initial investigation suggests the accused procured brown sugar from Murshidabad in West Bengal," STF DIG Jai Narayan Pankaj said.

Rao and his associates were supplying the contraband in Khurda, Bhubaneswar, Puri, Dhenkanal, Angul, among other places.

They were reportedly procuring arms from Munger in Bihar and selling them in various parts of Odisha.

STF officers suspect the cash seized is the proceeds obtained through the sale of brown sugar and arms.

The agency has launched a special drive since 2020 against drug dealers/peddlers and arms suppliers in Odisha.

The STF has seized over 47 kg brown sugar and arrested 122 drug dealers/peddlers during the period. In the last two years, the agency has also seized 67 firearms.

The agency's officers have been coordinating with the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and West Bengal Police to curb the supply of brown sugar in Odisha.

In a joint operation, STF and West Bengal Police arrested notorious inter-state drug trafficker SK Lalu from Baranaldaha in Nadia district on January 10 in connection with a case registered against him in Odisha.

The STF then seized Lalu's house in West Bengal worth about Rs 1 crore, which he had constructed by using the crime proceeds.

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