Narcotics worth over Rs 7 crore seized in Khagaul, kingpin of drug trafficking racket held

Patna: Police seized 4.846 kg of heroin and brown sugar during a raid at a house in Mustafapur village under the Khagaul police station area on Saturday night. The seized contraband is estimated to be worth around Rs 7.5 crore in the international market.

They also arrested alleged kingpin of the drug trafficking racket, a local cable operator.According to police, acting on a tip-off, a special raiding team conducted a search at the residence of accused Kallu Paswan. The raid was carried out in the presence of a magistrate, during which the drugs were found concealed in plastic bags. The seizure included 2.026 kg of high-quality heroin and 2.820 kg of brown sugar. Police also recovered a digital weighing scale, Rs 2,400 in cash and a cellphone.

Kallu, a cable operator by profession, was arrested while attempting to flee.Investigations revealed that the accused owned a lavish house and other assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. Documents related to a 15-kattha plot of land, eight bank accounts and other land records were also seized, indicating the family’s long-term involvement in drug trafficking.Patna SSP Kartikeya K Sharma said on Saturday that the narcotics were smuggled from northeastern states and transported by train from Siliguri to Patna, with one or two consignments arriving every month.

“Suppliers were paid Rs 1 lakh per consignment. Within the city, the drugs were distributed in areas such as Patna City, Ramakrishna Nagar and Danapur,” he said.The probe identified Kallu as the kingpin of the racket. His son Bittu, who was scheduled to appear for his graduation examination on the day of the raid, has been absconding since his father’s arrest. Police said Bittu allegedly managed around 10 commission-based suppliers who delivered drugs across the city.

Timely police action also disrupted a planned delivery near an examination centre.Police have initiated proceedings to confiscate properties acquired through criminal activities under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. “Further investigations are underway to trace backward and forward linkages of the syndicate based on information provided by the accused,” the SSP said.