CUTTACK: Cracking down on illegal transportation of contraband, a special squad of Excise Intelligence and Enforcement Bureau, (EI&EB), Central division, Cuttack, on Sunday arrested two persons from Patarasahi near Cuttack railway station and seized 100 grams of brown sugar worth `10 lakh.
The arrested are Sk. Talim (31) of Muslim Sahi and Mahendra Behera (42) of Samantarapur Swapneswar Sahi under Khurda Town police limits.
The accused duo were transporting brown sugar from Jaleswar to Khurda in Dhauli-Puri Express when excise officials laid a trap and nabbed them. The raid, led by Inspector Amarendra Kumar Jena, was conducted on the direction of Excise Commissioner PK Senapati. The team members approached the smugglers on the pretext of buying the contraband for peddling purpose and cornered them when both reached Patara Sahi to sell the drugs, informed Jena.
Acting on the information provided by the duo, Excise officials also arrested illicit trader Sk Sania (50) of Jaleswar in Balasore district, from whom arrested duo had purchased brown sugar. The excise officials have also seized 60 grams of brown sugar worth more than `6 lakh from his possession, Jena informed.