Opium worth ₹1.07 cr seized, two arrested

LUCKNOW: A team of customs department seized 71.5 kg opium worth ₹1.07 crore at Barabanki toll plaza and arrested two persons who were ferrying the contraband in an SUV. The seizure was made on Saturday night, officials informed on Monday.

This comes barely a week after seizure of several kilograms of charas in the district.

“The arrest was made following an intelligence input. We have recovered 71.5 kg high grade opium. The contraband was being transported from Siliguri (Assam) and was meant to be taken to Rampur for distribution in western UP,” said a senior customs official.

“Our teams are interrogating the accused who were arrested in the raid for more information about the drug trade,” he said.

The opium was kept in several small pockets that were stashed in two cavities made in the body of the vehicle.

Those arrested were identified as Satnam Singh, and Bittu Singh, residents of Rampur.

Talking about the modus operandi, the officer said, “The accused were bringing the contraband from a border district in Assam. The consignment was to be taken to a place in Thakurdwar block of Moradabad before being distributed in smaller quantities across the districts in western UP.” Officials suspect that the opium was smuggled into the country from Bangladesh.

An FIR was lodged against the accused and they were charged under the National Drugs and Psychotropic (NDPS) Act. They will be presented in court and sent to prison post preliminary interrogation, said officials