Twin raids in Siliguri: Illegal liquor factory busted in Uttarayan, cannabis smuggling foiled

Siliguri: In a major crackdown on illegal trade, the Excise department and Siliguri Police carried out two successful operations, busting an illicit liquor manufacturing unit in the upscale Uttarayan Township and foiling a cannabis smuggling attempt under the guise of corn sacks.

Acting on confidential information, officials from the Jalpaiguri division of the Excise department with teams from Bagdogra and Bhaktinagar raided a house in Uttarayan on Wednesday. Uttarayan is one of the luxurious townships in Siliguri located in Matigara.

The raid led to the recovery of four luxury cars, high-end liquor manufacturing equipment, a large quantity of spirits, branded caps and counterfeit packaging of reputed liquor brands. Three individuals have been arrested in the case so far.

They have been identified as Jalandhar Kumar Singh, Prabhat Kumar and Sangita Devi, reportedly residents

of Bihar. Sources further revealed that they had rented the house in 2022 and produced the liquor inside the house and smuggled it elsewhere using luxury cars to avoid suspicion.

The estimated market value of the seized items was more than Rs 1 crore. Sujit Das, the Special Excise Commissioner, Enforcement (North) said: “The house had been under surveillance for a long time. The gang used luxury vehicles to transport liquor to avoid suspicion. Further investigations are ongoing to uncover others involved.”

In a separate operation, the Anti-Crime Wing of Pradhan Nagar Police seized 202 kg of cannabis hidden in corn sacks from a truck near the Mahananda Bridge late Tuesday night. The truck driver, Robin Kayal and assistant driver, Kalyan Bhuiyan — both from South 24-Parganas — were arrested. The consignment was allegedly being transported from Cooch Behar to Bashirhat.

The estimated market value of the seized drugs was Rs 4 lakh. Both the accused were produced at Siliguri Court on Wednesday. Police have launched a full-scale probe.