Rangia police hold two Punjab men with heroin, Rs 3.51 lakh in cash

Police in Rangia, in Assam's Kamrup district, have arrested two men from Punjab and seized heroin and Rs 3.51 lakh in cash in an operation on Saturday, The Sentinel reported.

The two accused have been identified as Karaj Singh and Nasib Singh.

The seizure

Acting on a tip-off about drugs moving through transit routes in Kamrup district, a team from Rangia police station intercepted the two men. Police recovered six containers packed with suspected heroin and a soapbox filled with the same substance, along with Rs 3,51,000 in cash that investigators believe was linked to drug dealing.

Police have not yet disclosed the total weight or estimated value of the heroin seized.

Alleged Bhutan link

According to officials quoted in the report, initial questioning suggested the pair were trying to use Assam as a corridor to smuggle the consignment across the international border into Bhutan. Rangia lies on the road and rail routes that link Guwahati with the Bhutan border areas of lower Assam.

A senior investigating officer said the recovery of both drugs and a large amount of cash pointed to an established network, and that police were probing the forward and backward links of the Punjab-based operators to trace the wider syndicate. Police are working with central intelligence agencies to map the route, the report said.

Case registered

A case has been registered against both men under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. They are accused, and the charges have not been tested in court.

Assam Police have stepped up drug seizures across the state over the past two years, with the government regularly publishing figures on cases registered and contraband seized. Kamrup and the districts bordering Bhutan have seen several seizures of heroin and other narcotics moving along the inter-state and international transit routes.

NEInsider will update this story if police release the quantity seized or make further arrests.