Siliguri, 09 April (Siliguri Chronicle) – A drug trafficking attempt in Siliguri was foiled following a joint operation by the Special Operations Group (SOG) and Siliguri Police, officials said. The racket was allegedly being run using a woman as a front to avoid suspicion.
Acting on specific intelligence, police intercepted a suspicious four-wheeler parked near Jorepani Bridge and recovered around 1 kg of crude narcotic substance from the vehicle. Five people, including a woman, were arrested in connection with the case.
The accused have been identified as Pooja Rasaily (33), Pappu Giri (48), Azharuddin Sah (39), MD Murad Ansari (40), and MD Shamsher Alam (35). Police sources said four of them have prior criminal records.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the raw material was being transported from Malda to Siliguri for the production of brown sugar. To evade law enforcement, traffickers had shifted from carrying finished drugs to moving raw materials.
Officials further stated that the accused had earlier served time in jail together and had re-established contact after their release to plan the operation. Based on a tip-off, police first detained the woman and later recovered the narcotics from the boot of the vehicle.
All five have been booked under the NDPS Act and will be produced before a court. Police are continuing their probe to trace the larger network, with suspicions that the woman’s involvement may be linked to a wider conspiracy.
