Sambalpur: In a crackdown, around 1,440 bottles of cough syrup were seized on Friday by police at Jhankarpada locality near Sambalpur City railway station in this district. Police have arrested five persons in this connection.
According to official sources, police were tipped off about the deal being finalised by the five accused persons, who belong to Sambalpur. Swinging into action, a police team raided the locality leading to the seizure of a huge cache of cough syrups and the arrest of five persons.
One of the accused had procured the seized cough syrup from Kolkata. Allegedly, the syrup was to be sold to various individuals who travelled to this location for purchase. The accused have been charged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act).
The total value of the confiscated cough syrup in the open market is estimated to be around Rs 5 lakh. In addition to the syrup, police have also confiscated a car, a scooter, and Rs 10,000 in cash from the possession of the five accused, a senior police official expressed.
“Acting on the directives of Sambalpur SP and under a special drive against drugs, we carried out a raid and arrested five persons. The cough syrup bottles were packaged in 12 large sacks,” Sadar SDPO Tofan Bagh said.
