Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Excise Department has registered as many as 44638 cases till December of 2022-23 fiscal compared to 29038 cases during the same period in the previous fiscal, registering a significant 54% rise.
This is known during the monthly review meeting of the Department held under the chairmanship of Excise Commissioner Ashish Kumar Singh on Friday.
As many as 1460 persons were arrested in 1294 cases till December of this fiscal under the NDPS Act (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act) compared to 667 arrests in 575 cases during the same period in 2021-22 with an increase of 125% this year.
The Odisha Excise Department has seized 25388 grams of heroin this year against 10193 grams last year. Similarly, 22498 kg of ganja were seized this financial year compared to 27801 kg last financial year.
During the review meeting, Excise Commissioner Ashish Kumar Singh urged the officials to strengthen the enforcement measures and conduct frequent raids against the illegal manufacturing, distributing and sale of ID liquor, duplicate IMFL, non duty paid IMFL and narcotics in the State.