Berhampur: An illegal firecracker trading unit was busted today and firecrackers worth more than Rs 5 lakh were seized by police following a raid on a rented house at Lane No-8 in Shiva Shakti Nagar of Lanjipalli locality under Baidyanathpur police limits in Ganjam district.
Police have detained two persons in this connection and launched a detailed probe.
According to a police source, the godown was operational sans a valid license to trade explosives. The traders had purchased the seized firecrackers from a party and stored them in the rented house.
“Firecrackers were purchased locally and from outside the State as well, the value of which in the open market will be over Rs 5 lakh,” a senior official who took part in the raid stated.
“Acting on a tip-off from a reliable source and subsequent directives of Berhampur Superintendent of Police (SP) Saravana Vivek M, the police team led by Lanjipalli outpost in-charge Gouri Jena raided the house in the forenoon leading to a huge seizure,” the official added.
It is worth mentioning that with Deepavali festival getting closer, illegal trading of firecrackers is going on rampantly in and outside the city.