Post News Network
Balasore, June 28: This coastal town is emerging as a hub of illegal drug trade. Sunday, excise sleuths got a major breakthrough when they arrested a drug dealer.
Three days ago, excise officials raided Balighat area, arrested a woman and seized brown surgar worth Rs 90,000. Another drug peddler was arrested recently at Sahadevkhunta with seizure of 9gm contraband.
Sunday, sleuths of Cuttack-based Central Excise department (intelligence wing) conducted a raid in Adar Bazaar area and hauled up a huge cache of brown sugar. A drug peddler, identified as Sheikh Akbar (24) was arrested.
On the instructions of excise commissioner Prashant Senapati, a team comprising intelligence officer Amarendra Kumar Jena, inspector Baijayanti panda, Sadar inspector Ajay Behera, sub-inspector (mobile) Trilochan Nayak raided Akbar’s residence at Adar Bazaar and seized 500 gm of brown sugar and five small packets collectively worth `50 lakh, seven cell phones and a cash of Rs 9000. A case was registered against him and he was produced in the court.
For the last several months, drug trafficking has been on the rise in Adar Bazaar and Balighat area, from where the contraband is reportedly supplied to various parts of Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and other places.
Investigations revealed that some Bangladeshi infiltrators are involved in this drug racket and fetching drugs from Kolkata. The drug trafficking has also given rise to other crimes like chain snatching, loot and theft in the area. The burial ground and desolate riparian places have become safe haven for drug addicts.
Locals stated that most the drug addicts are aged between 19 and 24 years.
