Puri: The special squad of Odisha police arrested three persons and recovered about 170 grams of brown sugar, Rs 1.6 lakh cash and three two-wheelers during a raid in Puri district. Acting on a tip-off, the police carried out a raid in Chandanpur on Friday evening after information about the supply of drugs by the accused in the locality.

The accused have been identified as Pradeep Kumar Panda, Litu Pradhan and Niranjan Parida. Puri SP Prateek Singh said the arrest is a major step in the police's ongoing anti-narcotics drive. "These arrests are a direct result of our focused intelligence-based operations," the SP said. Singh said the accused were apprehended red-handed while selling the brown sugar.

The police seized 170 grams of the contraband worth Rs 16 lakh, two motorcycles, one scooter and three mobile phones from their possession, the SP said. The recovery also included a small knife. The police also recovered Rs 1.6 lakh in cash from the possession of the accused, suspected to be proceeds from the sale of the contraband. The Chandanpur police led the raid, the SP said, adding that the accused admitted to working for two notorious local drug peddlers, who are currently absconding.