Rs 2.5 crore in cash seized during probe into cough syrup smuggling racket in West Bengal

Kolkata: Around Rs 2.5 crore in cash, a small quantity of gold and some electronic devices were seized from a flat in West Bengal's Malda district during an overnight raid linked to an investigation into a banned cough syrup smuggling racket, police said on Monday.

The seizure was made during a joint operation conducted by the Malda and Dakshin Dinajpur district police, assisted by the Special Operations Team (SOT) of the state police, at the flat in Mangalbari under the jurisdiction of Malda police station, they said.

The raid followed an investigation into an earlier seizure of a large consignment of banned cough syrup in neighbouring Dakshin Dinajpur district.


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"Bundles of cash amounting to around Rs 2.5 crore were seized from the flat. A small quantity of gold and some electronic devices were also seized. The exact value of the articles is being ascertained," a police officer said.

Investigators suspect the cash could be linked to the illegal trade in banned cough syrup and are examining whether an inter-state smuggling network was involved, the officer said.

Police are also probing the source of the money, the ownership of the flat and the identities of those using the premises. Further investigation is underway.