Five youths were arrested with cash amount of Rs 40 lakh in cash from a private Bolero vehicle during a Naka checking operation at Durga Choumuhani area under Kamalpur subdivision of Dhalai district on Saturday night.
According to police sources, the Naka checking was being conducted under the joint leadership of Kamalpur Traffic In-Charge Pankaj Debnath and Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Kamalpur police station, Suman Acharya.
During the operation, a private Bolero bearing registration number TR 01 CD 0692, travelling from Dharmanagar towards Agartala, was intercepted on suspicion. A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of Rs 40 lakh in cash.
The detained persons are reportedly aged between 18 and 33 years. During preliminary questioning, they claimed that the cash was related to a transaction involving the betel-nut business. However, police reportedly found inconsistencies in their statements, raising further suspicion regarding the source of the money.
As the five persons are residents of different parts of the state and their explanations regarding the source of the cash reportedly did not match, police have launched a detailed investigation into the matter.
The recovered cash was counted using a counting machine in the presence of Kamalpur Sub-Divisional DCM Aditi Das, Kamalpur Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Saurav Das, Police officer Kapil Paul, and other police officers and sub-inspectors.
Police are investigating the source of the Rs 40 lakh, including who provided the money and whether any larger network or other individuals are involved.
Police said that further details regarding the actual source of the cash and the involvement of others will emerge after completion of the investigation.
According to police sources, the seized Rs 40 lakh and the five detained persons will be produced before the court on Sunday.