Police busts narcotics ring in Kaliachak, 5 in cop net

MALDA: Police arrested five individuals linked to a narcotics ring, following a tip-off from the Alipurduar Police. The operation, conducted by the Crime Monitoring Group (CMG), Special Operation Group (SOG) Malda, and Kaliachak Police, targeted different locations in the region on the nights of September 17 and recovered narcotic substances worth Rs 33 lakh.

The arrested individuals include Amir Hamja (35) and Israful Sheikh (36), both from Choto Sujapur; Tarun Debnath alias Choton (28) from Bhaktinagar in Jalpaiguri, and two others; Abu Bakkar Hossain (29) and Aminur Haque (34), from Pundi Bari in Cooch Behar. Authorities confiscated 355 grams of a brown powder suspected to be brown sugar from Hamja’s residence, with an estimated street value of Rs 33 lakh.

During interrogation, Hamja admitted to sourcing the drugs from Mosinpur for local distribution. However, two other suspects involved managed to escape during the raid. Kaliachak Police have registered a case under the NDPS Act and the arrested individuals, along with the seized substances, have been presented in court for remand and further proceedings. The investigation is ongoing as authorities seek to apprehend the fleeing suspects. Pradeep Kumar Yadav, superintendent of police (Malda), said: “We have started a detailed investigation into the matter.”