BHUBANESWAR: The city police on Wednesday arrested two persons including a woman on the charges of selling brown sugar.
Police seized 550 grams of brown sugar worth over Rs 50 lakh along with cash of Rs 34.8 lakh, a car, and two bikes from their possession.
Acting on a tip-off, Saheed Nagar police conducted a raid at a house in Kesura and nabbed the duo on charges of drug peddling.
"The man held was reportedly procuring the brown sugar from Jaleswar in Balasore district. The woman's husband is also involved in the racket and he is absconding. Efforts are on to nab him," Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Police Commissioner Saumyendra Kumar Priyadarsi told reporters.
The police suspected the money seized from the spot must be the crime proceeds obtained from selling the contraband. The financial investigation of the case registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act will be given top priority, he added.
In the last four months, police have launched an anti-narcotics drive in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
Over 2.2 kg brown sugar from Bhubaneswar and 3.1 kg brown sugar from Cuttack have been seized during the period, said Priyadarsi.
The Police Commissioner also informed that Special Squad along with Bharatpur police station officers apprehended three persons, seized 90 kg ganja and one four-wheeler from them on Tuesday.
Sources said the drug peddlers are procuring brown sugar from West Bengal by either using private transport or boarding buses. Some peddlers are also carrying the contraband through railway route up to Jaleswar and then Balasore.
In a few instances, police officers had found out that women and children were engaged by the drug peddlers to transport brown sugar.
"Ganja transportation is difficult but small quantities of brown sugar can be transported very easily. Once the pandemic subsides, efforts will be made to get to the roots of the narcotics trade which is being carried out from West Bengal," said a senior police officer.