Siliguri, 02nd July: The Special Task Force (STF) foiled a major cannabis smuggling attempt along the Siliguri route and arrested three persons, including a man and his sister-in-law, after seizing a large quantity of cannabis from a private vehicle near the Matigara-Phansidewa underpass.
The arrested accused have been identified as Om Prakash Paswan, Kiran Sarkar and Vivek Paswan.
According to STF sources, officials had received information that a consignment of cannabis was being transported from Cooch Behar to Bihar via Siliguri in a private vehicle. Acting on the tip-off, STF personnel launched surveillance near the Matigara-Phansidewa underpass from the early hours of Thursday.
During the operation, a suspicious white vehicle was intercepted and searched. Officials recovered 10 packets containing cannabis from the vehicle.
The total weight of the seized cannabis was found to be around 36 kg. Following the recovery, STF arrested all three accused, including one woman.
During preliminary interrogation, it was revealed that Om Prakash Paswan and Kiran Sarkar are related, with Kiran Sarkar being the sister of Om Prakash Paswan’s wife, while Vivek Paswan allegedly acted as their associate.
A case has been registered against the accused under the NDPS Act, and they were produced before a court in Siliguri. The STF has sought their custody for further investigation.