A massive consignment of Phensedyl cough syrup bottles being illegally transported was caught in Assam’s Karimganj on Sunday night, informed officials.
According to initial reports, an operation was carried out by Churaibari Police in Karimganj during which cough syrup bottles worth around Rs 2 crores was seized. The operation was carried out along the Assam – Tripura state border, mentioned officials.
A freight truck bearing registration numbers UP 21 BN 1404 was intercepted by the police at a check point and searched. Upon searching, the massive consignment of substandard cough syrup bottles being transported illegally was caught and seized.
As per officials, a total of 35,300 bottles of cough syrup was seized during the operation. The truck was coming in from Bihar and was headed towards Agartala in Tripura, they said.
The operation was carried out based on specific information of a possible smuggling bid by newly appointed officer Pranab Mili. Two people have been detained in connection with the matter.
They were identified as Mayank Sharma, the driver of the truck and Bishal, co-pilot. According to officials, they are residents of Harthala village in the Moradabad district of Uttar Pradesh.
Earlier in April, in a major crackdown against illegal timber smuggling, the forest department conducted a drive at Baithalangso village in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district.
The operation resulted in the seizure of a large quantity of valuable smuggled timber, including teak and gomari wood worth lakhs of rupees. During the drive, the forest department officials also seized a Tata mobile vehicle with registration number AS09-C-8860, which was allegedly used to transport the smuggled timber.
The seized timber and vehicle have been handed over to the concerned authorities for further investigation and legal proceedings. In a similar instance that took place on April 2, the Forest department conducted a series of raids in South Kamrup, resulting in the seizure of smuggled timber and wood chips in Goroimari.
The operation, which was led by the Goroimari Forest Officer, targeted various areas in the region and proved to be highly successful.
During the raid, the forest department seized a significant amount of timber, which was being smuggled out of the area. The smuggled timber was loaded onto a magic van, which was also confiscated by the authorities. The van, identified as AS25-DC-2071, was being used to transport the illegal goods, which were suspected to be headed toward various destinations outside of the state.
