The Siliguri metropolitan police on Wednesday arrested a resident of Bihar from Bagdogra after brown sugar worth around Rs 4.5 crore was allegedly seized from his possession.

Kunwar Bhushan, a deputy commissioner of police, told newspersons that Chandan Kumar, a resident of Laxminiya under Purnia district of Bihar, was intercepted while he was moving in an SUV through Bagdogra.

“The officer-in-charge of Bagdogra police station, along with a team of the detective department and the special operation group, intercepted the vehicle near Bhujiapani of Bagdogra. As they searched the SUV, 2.276 kilos of brown sugar, a derivative of heroin, was found in a bag. The SUV has also been seized,” he said.

The estimated price of the narcotics is Rs 4.55 crore.

According to the police officer, the strategic location of Siliguri has made drug rackets use the route for narcotic smuggling.

In recent times, this is one of the largest seizures of narcotics in a single operation.

“We have a zero tolerance policy against drugs and have carried out an extensive drive for the past one and half years. During the drive, 253 cases have been registered and 444 persons have been arrested so far,” said the officer.

In this period, 60 kilos of narcotics, estimated at around Rs 100 crore, was seized, police sources said.

Also, in Cooch Behar, the police have seized narcotics worth around Rs 31 lakh from three different locations in the past one week, sources said on Wednesday.