After a long halt, the inter-state drug smuggling racket has once again become active at Churaibari check post and now, again smugglers are using modern tactics to escape from the surveillance of security forces.

In such an attempt by smuggle a large consignment of contraband Eskuf cough syrup from West Bengal to Agartala, security forces at Churaibari check post portion of Assam on Monday  managed to intercept the huge consignment of contraband items hidden in oil tin boxes due to the prompt action of the police. The driver and co-driver of the vehicle were also arrested.

On Monday around 2 PM,  a  mini-truck bearing registration number WB25N-4370 was stopped at the Assam–Tripura entry point and searched by Churaibari police. Hidden behind various small goods inside the vehicle were several oil tins.

During the search in the suspected mini-truck, police forces, when breaking tin boxes, recovered a massive quantity of Eskuf cough syrup. According to the police, a total of 30,420 bottles of the syrup were seized from 390 tins, with an estimated black-market value of around Rs 3 crore.

Arrested drug peddlers were identified as Saminur Islam (driver) and Sheikh Alamin (co-driver), both residents of Shimulia village under Deganga police station in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. A case has been filed against them under various sections of the NDPS Act, and further investigation is underway.

Assam police sources said that arrested Saminur Islam had previously been caught for the same crime. Two years ago, he was arrested at the Assam border while smuggling cough syrup from Kolkata to Tripura and served a two-year prison term. After his release, he became involved in the same offense again. Despite adopting new tactics to mislead the police, smugglers are ultimately being trapped in the net of law, said police.