Sambalpur: In a significant crackdown on the illegal drug trade, the Bareipali police in Sambalpur district apprehended 20 persons on charges of smuggling cough syrup.
The accused, identified as Lokesh Padhan, Mahindra Kisan, Prabhat Bhoi, Amod Karali, Manish Singh, Trinath Behera, Dalu Tirki, Jitendra Sahu, Satyajit Nag, Chintu Suna, Sanjib Meher, Raja Das, Satyam Swain, Durga Deep, Basant Guru, Sudarsan Rout, Hasan Raza, Papi Bibhar, Amana Deep and Anil Yadav.
They were caught red-handed at Mesinkata Chowk in Bareipali while attempting to sell the contraband.
According to reports, Bareipali Police Station inspector Radhakanta Barik received credible information regarding smuggling of contraband cough syrup. He came to know that a white.
On the information, Inspector Barik along with other staff immediately conducted a raid at the said location and successfully apprehended the following five accused namely Amaresh Padhan alias Akash, Mahindra Kisan aks Mathu, Prabhat Bhoi aka Tittu, Amod Karali and Manish Singh.
During a search, two vehicles were seized along with 17 sealed plastic jerry packets containing a total of 5,100 bottles of Eskuf cough syrup (each bottle of 100 ml).
During interrogation, Amaresh disclosed that he had collected money from various local peddlers to procure the contraband cough syrup. The money was handed over to Chandra Sekhar Naik, who transferred it via UPI to a drug dealer in Cuttack.
According to the police, the accused were transporting 5,100 bottles of Eskuf cough syrup, valued in thousands, in two vehicles – a white Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire and a white Mahendra pickup. The police seized the vehicles, cough syrup, five mobile handsets, and Rs 40,920 in cash.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused had planned to sell the cough syrup during the upcoming festive season in Sambalpur town.
Bareipali police registered a case under the NDPS Act and is conducting further investigations to uncover the network’s extent and identify other accused.
