Four suspects, including a woman, were detained by the Special Task Force (STF) of the West Bengal Police on Tuesday in Siliguri for allegedly transporting drugs in a coffin inside an ambulance.
The deceased, who was purportedly lying inside the coffin, was being impersonated by the accused as his or her family members.
The casket in the ambulance used in the smuggling contained 64 kg of cannabis in total. During the operation, the STF also took possession of the ambulance and the casket.
The illegal drugs were being transported in an ambulance from Tripura to Bihar via Assam and West Bengal when they were found this morning about 9 am in the Phulbari area of Siliguri.
‘Based on our secret information, an ambulance was intercepted by our officers. During the search operation, it was found that the coffin was wrapped in white cloth and decorated with flowers,’ STF sources said.
‘A total of 18 packets of ganja (Cannabis) weighing 64 kg were recovered from inside the coffin,’ it said.
At the New Jalpaiguri Police Station of the Siliguri Police Commissionerate, a complaint was also made against the four accused, who were identified as Sameer Das (28), Apurva Dey (54), Pappu Modak (31) and Saraswati Das (34) under the Narcotics Act.