Nilagiri: A brown sugar peddler was arrested during a surprise raid by the Nilagiri Excise department Sunday and later produced in court.
According to sources, 50-year-old Ratikanta Behera of Chhotakanpur village under the jurisdiction of Nilagiri police station was found in possession of 80 grams of brown sugar.
The estimated market value of the seized narcotics is over Rs8 lakh. The operation was conducted under the leadership of Excise Station OIC Jagannath Behera, along with constables Santosh Kumar Behera, Tapan Kumar Mallik, and Nahan Murmu. The team successfully apprehended the accused.
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A case (51/25) has been registered in this regard, according to sources. Nilagiri has become a hub for drug traffickers, with youth getting trapped in the web of addiction. As a result, drug trafficking is on the rise, with the use of narcotics becoming widespread across rural areas to urban centres.
PNN
