Brown Sugar worth 1.45 crore, Cannabis Seized in Major Bengal Raids; Youth Dies in Road Crash in Cooch Behar

Agencies & KalimNews | June 25, 2025 : In a series of coordinated operations aimed at curbing narcotics trafficking in West Bengal, law enforcement agencies made substantial seizures of illicit substances and effected multiple arrests in Malda and Cooch Behar districts on Monday and Tuesday. 

Acting on credible intelligence, the Special Task Force (STF) of Kolkata, in collaboration with the Crime Monitoring Group (CMG) of Malda and personnel from Baishnabnagar Police Station, conducted a successful raid on Monday night near the 18th Mile area of NH-12 under Baishnabnagar Police Station. 

During this operation, officers apprehended Anil Choudhary, a 38-year-old resident of Nathnagar village in Bhagalpur district of Bihar, and seized approximately 1.454 kilograms of suspected brown sugar—a potent heroin derivative—estimated to be worth around ₹1.45 crore in the illegal drug market. 

Preliminary investigations indicate that Choudhary had procured the contraband from sources in Kaliachak, a region frequently flagged for narcotics activity, with the intent of trafficking the substance into Bihar. 

Authorities have filed a specific case under relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Choudhary was presented before a Malda court on Tuesday and remanded in police custody for 10 days as investigations continue to trace the larger drug distribution network.

Meanwhile, in Cooch Behar town, police arrested Anil Mahanta, a resident of Hili in South Dinajpur, on Tuesday afternoon after 8.1 kilograms of cannabis were discovered in his luggage during a routine search prompted by a tip-off. The arrest was carried out by Kotwali police, and a case has also been registered under the NDPS Act.

In a separate but related crackdown, Ghoksadanga police intercepted a car at Atpukuri Bazar, situated on the route between Mathabhanga and Falakata. Upon searching the vehicle, officers recovered 30 kilograms of cannabis hidden in two trolley bags and two handbags. The car was reportedly being used to transport the narcotics across district borders. Four individuals, including three women from various parts of Cooch Behar, were taken into custody in connection with the seizure. Authorities are probing their links to wider narcotics networks operating across northern Bengal.