Baripada: The Baripada Excise department on Friday seized a huge quantity of Mohua flowers and arrested two people in connection with smuggling the narcotic.
The two arrested accused have been identified as Shikhar Singh (40) of the Anandpur area under Khunta police limits and Chitta Singh (35) of the Karkachia area.
According to reports, acting on a tip-off that Mohua flowers are being smuggled from Jharkhand to Mayurbhanj district, District Excise Collector Prashant Kumar Kahur, a team led by Excise Mobile Unit-1 Inspector Sridhar Mohanty, conducted a raid in the area. As per the previous plan, a truck loaded with Mohul flowers was intercepted at Dhangidisola under Jharpokharia police limits on Friday morning. On inspection, the Excise department personnel found 72 quintals of mehul packed in 180 bags and seized the narcotic.
It is estimated that the seized narcotic is worth over Rs 10 lakh.
The Excise Department has registered a case in connection with Mohua flowers being smuggled from Jharkhand and is investigating the matter to arrest the others involved in the case. The arrested two accused were produced in court on Friday and efforts are on to arrest the owner of the truck, who is said to be absconding.
