Narcotics Trade Changing Face in Odisha: Women Emerging Key Driver of Brown Sugar Trade in State| Special Report

Bhubaneswar: The arrest of two women with brown sugar from Sambalpur's Sahu Colony Tuesday has once again underlined an emerging shift in Odisha's narcotics landscape – women are increasingly figuring prominently in brown sugar distribution networks.

The arrests have not been an isolated incident. Data over the years suggest the evolving trend.  Police data indicate female arrests in Odisha's brown sugar trade witnessed a sharp rise in 2026.

Women: From Courier to Quenpins

According to police records and enforcement data, the profile of those arrested has changed significantly over the past five years.

While around 28 women were arrested during 2021-22 and nearly 42 during 2023-24, over 25 women were apprehended in Bhubaneswar alone in 2025 as enforcement agencies intensified their crackdown on female-led distribution networks.

In 2026 so far, police have arrested at least nine women in major brown sugar cases across Sambalpur, Khordha, Bhubaneswar and Bhadrak, including the latest arrest of Ipshiba Bahadur and Pal Oram from Sambalpur, signalling that women are no longer confined to peripheral roles in the narcotics trade.

Western Odisha's turning point: How Sambalpur Women network took shape after 2021

Police investigations indicate that the emergence of women in Western Odisha's brown sugar trade dates back to the COVID-19 pandemic period in 2021.

With interstate movement disrupted and intensified policing making male operatives more vulnerable, syndicates allegedly began relying on local women to move retail quantities without attracting suspicion.

Dhanupali and Mudipada initially emerged as the principal operational pockets where women acted as couriers and stash keepers.

Over the next few years, these roles expanded beyond delivery to managing neighbourhood-level retail operations.

The latest raid near Sahu Colony marks the emergence of yet another residential pocket in Sambalpur as a micro-distribution hub, suggesting that traffickers are decentralising operations to evade surveillance in traditional hotspots.

From coastal peddlers to organised operators: Odisha's decade-long transformation

The phenomenon, however, predates Western Odisha. Police records trace the first significant appearance of women in Odisha's brown sugar trade to 2014, when a woman was arrested in Bhubaneswar with brown sugar allegedly sourced from West Bengal.

Between 2015 and 2019, women were largely confined to retail peddling in coastal urban pockets, often concealing small quantities to avoid detection.

The landscape changed dramatically after 2020 as larger interstate syndicates expanded operations.

By 2024-26, investigations increasingly pointed to women allegedly managing logistics, finances, rented accommodations and retail networks, prompting police to invoke conspiracy provisions under the NDPS Act and intensify financial investigations alongside drug seizures.

Coastal supply chain now feeds Western Odisha

The latest Sambalpur arrests also reflect a broader geographical shift in Odisha's brown sugar network.

For nearly a decade, the trade remained concentrated along the coastal belt, with Balasore serving as the principal entry corridor from West Bengal and Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Puri, Bhadrak and Jajpur evolving into major transit and consumption centres.

Since 2021, however, police have recorded an increasing number of seizures in Sambalpur, Jharsuguda and Rourkela, indicating that the coastal supply chain has steadily penetrated Western Odisha.

Enforcement records show brown sugar seizures rising from gram-level recoveries before 2020 to multi-kilogram interceptions after the formation of the Special Task Force.

Here are the year wise seizures of Brown Sugar in the State during the last three year period.

Enhanced border patrolling alongside a landmark Assembly report confirming a total of 124.99 kg seized over a 4-year block caused overall bulk volumes to drop as syndicates fractured.

• 2024: ~24.50 kilograms (Statewide total).
• 2025: ~29.00 kilograms (Of which 3.2 kg was seized directly within city limits by the Bhubaneswar urban police network).
• 2026: ~18.00 kilograms (Year-to-date).

Although total seizure volumes have moderated in recent years, police attribute this to syndicates fragmenting into smaller, neighbourhood-based retail cells rather than any decline in demand.

The launch of Odisha Police's three-year anti-drug campaign in April 2026 has further shifted enforcement towards dismantling these decentralised networks through financial investigations and sustained local-level crackdowns. 

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