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Updated: Mar 10, 2020 16:01 IST

Police in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district have seized 400kg of cannabis or ganja worth more than Rs 20 lakh, which was being smuggled to the state from Assam in a truck packed with tea leaves, officials said on Tuesday.

Highlights This is the biggest seizure of ganja in the district since January 1

The smugglers hid the ganja in packets meant for tea

This year, 605kg ganja has been seized in Murshidabad so far

The driver of the truck has been arrested, police said. However, the smugglers who were following the truck in an SUV fled when the police intercepted the vehicle on Monday night.

“Officers of Nabagram police station received information that a huge consignment of ganja was being brought to the state. Around midnight they intercepted a cargo truck near Suki intersection on NH 34. The ganja was hidden inside packets of tea,” AS Yadav, Murshidabad’s superintendent of police, said.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the ganja was produced in Nagaland and loaded in the container somewhere in Guwahati in Assam. We have arrested Bhopal Singh, 33, the driver who hails from Rajasthan,” said Yadav.

Police officers who took part in the raid said this is the biggest seizure of ganja in the district since January 1. The consignment was meant for a man who operates in the district’s Kandi police station area, they added.

“The driver went to Assam to unload a consignment. He was returning with tea dust that he was scheduled to take to Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu,” a senior police officer said on condition of anonymity.

“Some people from Murshidabad lured the driver with Rs 60,000 and convinced him to drop the ganja on his way back. He was promised another Rs 40,000 after delivery,” the official added.

To mislead the police, the smugglers had hidden the ganja in packets meant for tea.

“We have received information that a woman and two men are the masterminds. They were following the truck in an SUV but fled when the truck was intercepted by us. They abandoned the SUV beside NH-34,” an officer said on condition of anonymity.

“This year, we have so far seized 605kg ganja in Murshidabad. We have also seized 2.7kg heroin and 36 thousand Yaba tablets,” said Yadav.