Two persons were arrested on Saturday for illegally transporting in a lorry what is suspected to be rice meant to be distributed under the Re 1 rice scheme (Anna Bhagya).

Police arrested Bashir and Gulab Hussain from Kerala and seized 278 bags of rice along with the lorry. Police sources said they were waiting on the Bypass Road, following a tip-off, and intercepted the lorry having Kerala registration.

According to police, the bags of rice that were being transported had ‘Lion brand, IR8 raw rice, JP Agri Commodities, Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh’ printed on it. It is said that an influential rice mill owner from the City had procured the public distribution system rice in the black market and had repacked it, before transporting it to Kerala.

A sample of the seized rice has been sent to the Food Corporation of India for tests. “Further action will be initiated once we receive the test reports,” police said.