Puri: Excise sleuths Tuesday seized brown sugar worth Rs 10 lakh and arrested five people at Narendra Kone Biseswara Lane in the holy city of Puri.
The accused persons have been identified as Kanhei Patra, Buddhia Naik, Chiku Das, Chandan Das and Kabu Rath. They are residents of the same locality.
Acting on a tip-off, excise officials conducted simultaneous raids in the area and seized 102 grams of brown sugar. The market value of the seized contraband would be around Rs 10 lakh, said an excise official.
The excise officials also seized three two-wheelers and several mobile phones from their possession.
It may be mentioned here that brown sugar trade is on a rise in the state. In a major crackdown against drug peddling, a person was arrested from the district January 5 after local cops seized brown sugar weighing 5.3 grams from his possession. The cops conducted a surprise raid at his house acting on a tip-off and seized the contraband worth Rs 75,000.
PNN