Brown Sugar Worth Rs 16 Lakh Seized in Balasore; One Arrested

Bhubaneswar: In a major breakthrough, the Excise Department on Wednesday seized brown sugar worth approximately Rs 16 lakh from Saraswatipur village under the Bhograi block in Odisha’s Balasore district.

The seizure was made during a joint operation by the Jaleswar and Bhograi Excise teams. Acting on specific intelligence, the sleuths posed as customers and successfully nabbed the accused, identified as Vijay Kumar Sahu, red-handed while he was allegedly selling the contraband.

Sahu, a resident of Sanategheri village, was apprehended at Saraswatipur. During the operation, the officials recovered 165 grams of brown sugar, a motorcycle used for transportation, and Rs 1,070 in cash from his possession.

Excise officials said a detailed investigation is underway to trace the larger drug network. Efforts are also being made to ascertain how such a significant quantity of brown sugar was allegedly smuggled from West Bengal into Odisha.

Further investigation is in progress.