A local court in Bhubaneswar has sentenced a 31-year-old drug peddler, Prakash Sethy alias Pappu, to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for his involvement in the illegal drug trade under the NDPS Act. Sethy, from Keonjhar district, was also fined Rs 1 lakh and faces an additional one-year term if he fails to pay the fine.
The conviction stems from an incident on May 21, 2025, when Sethy was caught trading brown sugar on the Hi-tech–Bankuala road in Bhubaneswar by the Special Task Force of the Odisha Crime Branch. The authorities seized 330 grams of contraband brown sugar from him during the arrest.
Investigations revealed that Sethy had obtained the brown sugar from Balasore and was en route to deliver it to local drug peddlers in Bhubaneswar. The State Forensic Science Laboratory confirmed the substance to be brown sugar after conducting a chemical examination.
Following a thorough investigation and the submission of a chargesheet under the NDPS Act, Sethy was convicted after the court examined witness statements and evidence. This case marks the first instance in Odisha where a person has been convicted within two months of charges being framed.
In a separate case, another drug peddler, Ashok Kumar Behera of Balasore, was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison for trading over 1 kg of contraband brown sugar in Nayabazar, Balasore, after procuring the substance from the Jaleswar area.
