In a major success for the Panisagar police of North Tripura district, a huge consignment of illegal Burmese cigarettes was seized during a routine vehicle checking operation on Thursday and police have also arrested two peddlers.
Police sources said that acting on a tip-off, police intercepted a suspicious vehicle and recovered a large quantity of contraband cigarettes cleverly concealed beneath packaged drinking water and cold drink bottles. The illegal consignment was reportedly being transported from the neighbouring state of Assam to Agartala.
During routine Naka checking, police stopped a vehicle bearing registration number WB-89-3093 and carried out a thorough search. The search led to the recovery of 40 cartons of illegal Burmese cigarettes packed inside 20 sacks.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Panisagar police station, Ashutosh Sharma, stated that the black market value of the seized cigarettes is estimated to be between Rs 25 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.
Following the seizure, the driver, Jewel Miah of Kumarghat, and co-driver, Bijoy Mog of Ambassa, were arrested and police added that an investigation is underway to identify others involved in the smuggling network for Burmese cigarettes.