PATNA: As preparations for Bihar polls are afoot, around 86 kilos of contraband substances, akin to brown sugar, and 15 bundles of foreign-made clothes, were seized on September 11 in a joint operation of customs officials and SSB from an Indian village on the Indo-Nepal border in East Champaran district of Bihar.
On Wednesday, after five days of completing official formalities, deputy commissioner of customs Ashutosh Kumar Singh told the media that the contraband substances, which appeared to look like brown sugar, were wrapped up in small size pouches inside three big bags inside dense bushes near the Sariswa river of East Champaran of Bihar at Raxaul near the Indo-Nepal border.
“Acting on an intelligence tip, a joint team of customs and SSB unit first raided a hideout at Premnagar colony in Raxaul and seized 15 bundles of clothes of with an estimated market value of Rs 18 lakhs," Singh said, adding that the bulk consignment of contraband was seized after from a riverside hideout in the wider search operation of the locality.
He said that the international market values of both the contraband substances were estimated to cost around Rs 25 crore and Rs 18 lakhs for seized bundles of clothes.
“When officials opened the three sacks, they were surprised to see small pouches containing brown colour narcotics substances mixed with a green colour tablet in one sack.
In another two sacks, small pouches containing yellow colour of narcotic substance powder with green coloured tablets were found,” Singh said.
He said samples of seized contrabands have been sent for lab test in Kolkata. It is considered to be the biggest seizures in recent times on the India side of Indo-Nepal border.
IG SSB Sanjay Kumar added that the seized clothes were handed over to the customs department for further action.