UP Police Seize 123 Kg Ganja, Heroin in Two Anti-Drug Operations Along Nepal Border

Two persons were arrested with nearly 123 kg of ganja worth Rs 60 lakh in the international market, while a 19-year-old Nepal national was held with heroin in two separate anti-narcotics operations near the India-Nepal border in Uttar Pradesh's Maharajganj district, police said on Thursday.

In the first operation, Thuthibari police, along with Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) teams from Siddharthnagar and Gorakhpur, arrested two persons near Naubari village following a tip-off, Superintendent of Police Shakti Mohan Avasthy said.

The accused were identified as Naimun Nisha alias Jahantara (49), a resident of Chainpatti village in Kushinagar district, and Rajendra Gaur alias Ravindra (50), from Azad Nagar in the same district.

Police seized 122.975 kg of ganja and a Scorpio vehicle allegedly used for smuggling. The contraband was estimated to be worth Rs 60 lakh in the international market.

A case has been registered at Thuthibari police station under Sections 8, 20 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Gaur has two previous NDPS cases registered against him, one in Kushinagar in 2020 and another in Basti in 2023. Both accused are being produced before a court.

In the second operation, a joint team of Sonauli police and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel arrested 19-year-old Nepal national Rohit Maurya with 57.24 grams of heroin near the international border on November 4.

Maurya, a resident of Siddharthanagar municipality in Nepal's Rupandehi district, was apprehended near a primary school in Fareni village during a checking drive following a tip-off. A Nepal-registered motorcycle was also seized.

A case has been registered against him under Sections 8, 21(b) and 23 of the NDPS Act. He was subsequently produced before a local court for further legal proceedings, police added.