Bhubaneswar: The Special Task Force (STF) has seized brown sugar weighing over 22 kg during the year 2022. Meanwhile, the state police have managed to seize a total of 47 kgs of brown sugar including seizure by STF.
In a first, the STF sleuths also busted a racket involved in the illegal trade of cocaine and seized 200 mg of the costly psychoactive substances. The state police recorded the seizure of 1162 quintals of cannabis including 25.24 quintal ganja seized by the sleuths of STF in 2022.
The STF also seized opium weighing 517 gm and Rs 65 lakh in cash during the above period.
This apart, properties worth more than Rs33 crore, illegally acquired through supplying narcotic drugs, have been forfeited by the state police till date. Similarly, ill-gotten assets of drug traffickers worth over Rs 12.85 crore have been seized and forfeited by the STF as well.
The state police destroyed seized materials including ganja weighing 658 quintals (38 Quintals seized by STF) and brown sugar weighing 27 Kg (22 kg by the STF) during the above period.
The STF, on the other hand, has arrested 133accused persons after registering 75 cases including 27 under NDPS Act and 31 under wildlife acts. As many as 14 criminals were held from outside the state by the STF this year so far.
The STF seized 14 leopard skins, 1 Leopard Cat Skin, nine live pangolins, over 22 kg pangolin scale, 14 elephant tusk, two leopard teeth, 29 leopard claws and 46 live wild parrots in 2022. For the first time STF seized one Royal Bengal Tiger hide this year.
As many as 14 Fire Arms, 60 ammunitions and 8 magazines were recovered from the possession of criminals.
This apart, the STF sleuths have rescued around 229 cows while being transported to outside the state flouting various rules under The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
PNN