Siliguri: The Siliguri Police Commissionerate on Monday arrested eight persons and recovered drugs worth Rs 42 crore from them in separate raids in the last 24 hours.
Police seized brown sugar weighing 2 kg and five quintals of cannabis. The anti-drug drive has been intensified ever since new police commissioner of Siliguri C Sudhakar took charge. "Siliguri is important for the traffickers because of its international and inter-state borders. Thus, there are regular operations against drugs," Sudhakar said.
Acting on a tip-off, the New Jalpaiguri Police conducted an anti-drug operation on Sunday and recovered 10 packets of cannabis weighing 111.4 kg from Bholamore area of Fulbari village panchayat adjacent to Siliguri. One person was arrested in the incident. The accused has been identified as Mantu Sarkar, a resident of Suryasen Colony in Siliguri. The cannabis was hidden in cardboard boxes hoarded at the back of a lorry, which was travelling from Siliguri to Bihar.
In another operation, New Jalpaiguri Police intercepted a pickup vehicle near the Biswa Bangla Shilpi Haat in Kawakhali area in Siliguri and recovered four quintals of cannabis from Shambhu Das, a resident of Ranidanga near Siliguri. The total cannabis seized is worth around Rs 2 crore.
Meanwhile, brown sugar weighing two kg worth around Rs 40 crore was recovered during a joint operation by Special Operation Group and Pradhan Nagar Police. Four persons from Murshidabad, Gafar Ali, Salim Sheikh, Tajibur Rahman and Karibul Islam were arrested from the spot and will be produced in court today.
Also Read: Maha: Drugs seized inside Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail, probe underway
Also, another consignment of cannabis was recovered from two persons, Parimal Roy from Naxalbari and Babar Ali from Murshidabad in a raid conducted in Kulipara under Pradhan Nagar police station area.
