5 held, 880 cough syrup bottles seized

Balangir: Police intercepted a vehicle near Smart Park on the Balangir-Titilagarh road late on Saturday night and arrested five people for allegedly trafficking banned cough syrup.Total 880 bottles of the addictive syrup, being transported without valid documentation, were seized under Town police station limits. The accused were identified as Bidyadhar Sahoo (20), Ankit Patel (19), Bishes Jena (19) and Priyanshu Nanda (19), all residents of Balangir and Suresh Kumar Sahoo (19) of Cuttack.Bidyadhar has priorcriminal records, including past charges related to drug peddling andillegal trade.The accused, officials revealed on Sunday, had attempted to flee in twoseparate vehicles coming from Rajibnagar towards Smart Park, but policemanaged to stop cars and nab its occupants. Police also recovered fivemobile phones and impounded the vehicle used in the crime.According to Saroj Kumar Upadhyaya, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO)Balangir the raid was executed based on specific intelligence inputs. “TheTown Inspector In-Charge and his team acted promptly to intercept thevehicles suspected of carrying contraband,” he said.According to police, after getting input, a patrolling team from the townpolice station set up a checkpoint and stopped the suspicious car. During athorough search, police recovered the consignment of Eskuf brand coughsyrup containing Codeine, commonly abused as a narcotic substitute. Theestimated market value of the seized stock is approximately 1.97 lakhs.“This is a significant breakthrough in our drive against substance abuse.The tip-off proved crucial, and we are investigating the supply chain,including who was to receive the consignment,” said Upadhyaya.A case has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and PsychotropicSubstances (NDPS) Act, and further interrogation is underway to uncover thewider network.