Kolkata: STF foils smuggling bid, nabs two passengers at Howrah Railway Station with cocaine
Aug 31, 2023
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], August 31 : A team of Special Task Force (STF) of West Bengal has foiled a smuggling bid and apprehended two persons, including a woman, with 86 grams of cocaine at Howrah Railway Station here, an official said.
During the investigation, it was learnt that the contraband was being smuggled from Mumbai and would be sold to users in Kolkata, the official said.
According to West Bengal STF, the arrested persons were identified as Arshi Siddiqi (23), a resident of Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh and Mahesh Prasad Jaiswal (40), a resident of Kolkata.
"On August 29, acting upon a secret input of narco-trafficking, a raid team of the Special Task Force of West Bengal reached Howrah Railway Station," the official said.
The team members kept watch on the flow of passengers for some time in the evening and finally detected two suspected persons moving near Platform No-18 after deboarding from the Gitanjali Express, said the official.
A thorough search of both suspects was conducted as per provisions laid by law. A total amount of 86 grams of cocaine valued at nearly Rs 20 lakh was recovered in two separate plastic packets from the possession of both accused, said the official.
A specific case has been registered against both accused over a complaint of STF WB at Howrah Government Railway Police Thana under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.
The two arrested would be produced in Special NDPS Court Howrah. The linkages will be investigated to unearth the supply chain, stated the official.
