DRI arrests five kingpins of narcotics trade with huge drug consignment

Kolkata, Aug 2 (IANS) In a joint operation by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and special operations group of Siliguri City Police, a major cross- border narcotics cell has been busted with kingpins in the trade arrested with huge consignment of narcotics and cash.

Police sources said that the five persons were arrested from two different places by two teams on Tuesday night.

In the first operation, the joint team arrested three persons from a vehicle at Bhuttabari area in the Siliguri- adjacent Bagdogra with 893 grams of brown sugar whose market value is over Rs 1 crore.

Huge cash worth Rs 17 lakhs were also seized from them.

Those arrested have been identified as Raju Shekh, Gautam Mondal and Bhaat, all being residents of Malda district.

Police sources said that they were planning to sell the narcotics consignment at Siliguri.

In another crackdown, the DRI sleuths arrested two persons with 16 foreign gold biscuits weighing 2,35 kilograms from two persons at New Jalpaiguri railway station adjacent to Siliguri.

The estimated value of the gold consignment seized is around Rs 1.50 crore.

The two persons arrested in this connection have been identified as Mohammad Nizamuddin, resident of Uttar Pradesh and Ansarulla Khan, a resident of Dhanbad. They were coming from the Tripura capital of Agartala.