CUTTACK: A special squad of the Excise Intelligence and Enforcement Bureau, (EI&EB) Cuttack Central Division, busted a drug transportation racket on Tuesday. The team, headed by Inspector Amarendra Kumar Jena, seized 265 grams of brown sugar which was being smuggled in a Scorpio van from Jaleswar to Bhubaneswar. Four persons, including the driver, have been arrested. They are Sk. Nur Sahadat alias Fakira, Inataj Mallik of Rajpur, Sk. Yasin Box of Sekhbard and driver Sk. Nasimuddin of Jhadeswarpur under Jaleswar police limits in Balasore.
The seized brown sugar is estimated to cost `30 lakh.
Jena said, basing on information provided by Excise Commissioner Debendra Mohapatra, the special squad had kept a watch at Kathajodi bridge near Khapuria and cornered the van at about 4.30 pm. During interrogation, the accused confessed to have invested equally in procuring the consignment from Kharagpur in Kolkata. The smugglers revealed that they were to share the profits also.During investigation, it was found that the racket was indulged in illegal transportation for the last two years. As the seized van bears advocate’s logo, investigation is on to find out the vehicle owner, Jena said.