Palghar: 30-year-old man held with brown sugar worth Rs 1.8 lakh

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Police have arrested a 30-year-old man from Maharashtra's Palghar district after seizing brown sugar worth Rs 1.8 lakh from his possession, an official told news agency PTI on Wednesday.

Acting on a tip-off, the police laid a trap at Hanuman Nagar in Nallasopara area on Monday evening. When the accused reached the spot, the police nabbed him. During a search, the police recovered 18 gm of brown sugar from his possession, senior police inspector Pramod Badakh told PTI.

A case has been registered against the accused under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the official told PTI.

The police were trying to find out from where the accused got the contraband and to whom he planned to sell it, the official told PTI.

Earlier this month, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has arrested a Nigerian national from New Delhi in connection with the seizure of cocaine in Mumbai two months ago, an official told PTI.

The accused, who is allegedly the mastermind of a drug syndicate, was brought to Mumbai on September 16 and produced in court, the official told PTI.

The DRI had seized 500 gm of cocaine from a courier terminal in June and arrested two persons during a meticulously planned delivery operation in the Nalasopara area. Following the interrogation of the arrested accused and a forensic analysis of their digital devices, the DRI zeroed in on the mastermind of the syndicate operating from New Delhi, reported PTI.

The DRI team laid a trap and nabbed the main accused from Uttam Nagar area of New Delhi, the official told PTI.

Meanwhile, police seized 300 bottles of codeine phosphate cough syrup and 10,600 tablets of Alprazolam from two men in Thane city of Maharashtra, an Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) official told PTI on Wednesday.

The value of the seizure is estimated to be worth more than Rs 5 lakh, the official told PTI.

The two men were nabbed when they were moving suspiciously near Dahisar Road on Monday, the official told PTI, adding the police found 300 bottles of Codeine Phosphate cough syrup worth Rs 1,50,000 and 10,600 tablets of Alprazolam worth Rs 3.66 lakh from the possession of the duo.

Codeine syrup and Alprazolam pills are sold at medical stores only on the prescription of Registered Medical Practitioners. In addition to pain relief, codeine can lead to a pleasurable euphoric sensation if taken in higher doses. Alprazolam, which is used to treat anxiety and related issues, is potentially dangerous when misused.

A case has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Further investigation is underway, reported PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)