Siliguri, 17th September: In a significant breakthrough, the Special Operations Group (SOG) and the undercover cops of the Pradhan Nagar police station recovered brown sugar worth Rs 30 crore in a joint operation within 24 hours. The incident led to the arrest of six accused identified as Babar Ali, Gafar Ali, Salim Shaikh, Tajibur Rehman, and Karibul Islam who hailed from Murshidabad and Parimal Roy, a resident of Babu Para in Naxalbari.
According to reports, the aforementioned criminals arrived in two groups from Murshidabad with huge quantity of brown sugar worth crores. The drug smuggling was attempted to be coordinated from Murshidabad to Siliguri. However, the plan was foiled by the SOG and the undercover cops of the Pradhan Nagar police station.
Investigations revealed that, on Saturday, the accused Babar and Gafar arrived in the Darjeeling More of Siliguri simultaneously to deliver a significant quantity of brown sugar to Parimal Roy who eventually arrived on a motorcycle. Meanwhile, in a joint operation, the Pradhan Nagar police station’s undercover officers and the SOG searched all three individuals based on suspicion in the Durgaguri neighbourhood near Siliguri’s Darjeeling More. During the search, the authorities recovered 2 kilograms of brown sugar. Subsequently, the three were apprehended in accordance with the NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act.
Following this, the second group of smugglers, arrived at a temple located in Rajendra Nagar area under Ward No. 1 of the SMC with the intention of smuggling drugs. However, on Saturday night, the SOG squad and officers of Pradhan Nagar police station, acting on a tip-off, launched a joint operation and arrested Salim Shaikh, Tajibur Rehman, and Karibul Islam with 2 kilograms of brown sugar. On Sunday, all the six accused were presented before the Siliguri Court. At present, police are engaged in further investigation.