Bhubaneswar: The Special Task Force (STF) of the state Crime Branch has arrested five drug peddlers and seized brown sugar worth around Rs 1 crore from their possession.
The accused were identified as Bijay Mohanty of Barunei in Khurda, Sk Jumman alias Badruddin of Jaleswar in Balasore, Soumyajit Parija, Sagar Behera and Sapan Bhattacharya of Jagatsinghpur district.
According to sources, the STF sleuths were recently tipped off about the execution of a brown sugar deal between some drug peddlers along Khurda-Barunei road. Subsequently, the sleuths with the help of Khurda police carried out a raid and arrested one of the accused Mohanty. The sleuths also seized brown sugar weighing 1.05 kg from his possession.
On the basis of the information elicited during the interrogation of Mohanty, STF arrested Parija, Behera and Bhattacharya, who were supplying him the contraband, from different places in Jagatsinghpur district. They further revealed the name of Sk Jumman who used to procure brown sugar from Murshidabad of neighbouring West Bengal and later supply the drugs to local drug peddlers.
The four were arrested when they were on the way to Balasore to procure brown sugar. Cops have seized a car and Rs 5, 30,000 from their possession.
STF arrested all the five accused by registering a case (15/21) in this regard. They were later sent to judicial custody by the court Saturday.
PNN
