The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) has busted an international syndicate of drug trade after arresting a Manipuri woman from Sunauli Gate in Uttar Pradesh and recovering contraband items worth `60 crore from her possession.
The SSB seized the drugs from Rose Kanshug while she was coming from Kathmandu. She was in possession of cocaine weighing 3.25 kg. Her associate and the syndicate leader, Taobovich Gongales Paula, a Bolivian citizen, were arrested from Kathmandu, by the Nepal Police on a tip-off from SSB.
Another associate, identified with her first name Moi, was arrested from Safdarjang Enclave area here following a tip-off from Kanshug. However, a Nigerian youth Ogbonnaya Nahan, identified as another associate Kanshug, is still at large.
The SSB has seized drugs worth `75 crore during the last one week even as it has so far this year seized contraband items valued at `103 crore from Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan border.
During interrogation, Kanshug has revealed that the seized drugs were supposed to be delivered to Moi, who in turn had to deliver it to the Nigerian citizen for onward transfer to Panama.
Earlier on August 20, the SSB had seized rare synthetic drugs worth `15 crore and arrested two persons from Siliguri in West Bengal.
SSB Director General Archana Ramasundaram has directed all its units to check drugs and human trafficking along the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan borders.
Till July this year, the paramilitary has seized drugs worth about `28.5 crore in 151 incidents involving seizure of about 12,000 kg of contraband items and arrested 179 smugglers.
The SSB guards the Indo-Nepal and Indo-Bhutan border and is the lead Intelligence Agency on both these frontiers. Through its civic action programmes, the paramilitary has earned a significant deal of respect amongst bordering population leading to generation of actionable intelligence from the bordering population.
Apart from providing free cleft surgeries and other medical assistance, including eye care and routine medical checkups, the paramilitary specialists also provide free treatment to the cattle in the area, officials added.