Malda Police Bust Cough Syrup Smuggling Racket, Seize Rs 2.41 Crore Cash and Gold

Kolkata, Aug 2026 West Bengal Police have busted an alleged cough syrup smuggling racket operating from Malda with links to Bangladesh, recovering more than Rs 2.40 crore in cash, gold and 9,000 bottles of banned cough syrup during a nightlong operation.

The operation began on Sunday night after police received information about the suspected smuggling network. A team of Malda district police raided the residence of a local businessman in the Mangalhat area, where they recovered a huge amount of cash along with gold and a laptop.

Three currency-counting machines were deployed to count the seized cash. After the counting was completed, police found Rs 2,40,97,380 at the premises. Around 20 grams of gold, estimated to be worth nearly Rs 2.80 lakh, was also recovered.

Police arrested three people in connection with the seizure. They have been identified as Pintu Sarkar, Gopal Chaki and Sushant Halder, all residents of the area. The accused are scheduled to be produced before a district court in Malda, where the prosecution is expected to seek their police custody for further questioning.

The premises where the cash and gold were found belong to a person identified as Dilip Saha. However, the flat had reportedly been rented for some time by Pintu Sarkar, who works as a medicine dealer.

Meanwhile, another police team conducted a raid in the Khaihatta area of Malda as part of the same investigation. The search operation continued until around 4 a.m. on Monday, resulting in the recovery of approximately 9,000 bottles of banned cough syrup.

According to a Malda district police official, the latest raids were based on follow-up investigations into an earlier case involving the alleged smuggling of cough syrup to neighbouring Bangladesh.

Last month, police had intercepted around 1,500 bottles of banned cough syrup in Dakshin Dinajpur district’s Mehendipara area. The consignment was allegedly being prepared for transportation to Bangladesh, where such cough syrups are reportedly sought for their intoxicating effects.

Investigators subsequently followed leads emerging from that case, which eventually resulted in the raids in Malda and the recovery of the cash, gold and additional cough syrup bottles.

The latest action comes amid increased scrutiny of alleged smuggling networks operating along West Bengal’s border with Bangladesh. Authorities have been investigating the movement of banned pharmaceutical substances as well as the financial networks associated with such activities.

The Malda seizure also comes days after a major cash-and-gold recovery in neighbouring Birbhum district. Police had reportedly recovered Rs 28 crore in cash and 15 kg of gold biscuits, valued at around Rs 22 crore, from the residence of Minar Mondal.

Mondal is described as a close relative of Birbhum-based stone-quarry owner Tulu Mondal, also known as Mohammad Nazibuddin, who is currently absconding. Tulu Mondal’s name had earlier surfaced in connection with a cattle-smuggling investigation and he was reportedly under the Enforcement Directorate’s scrutiny in 2022.

The latest Malda investigation is expected to focus on the source of the seized cash and gold, the supply chain of the banned cough syrup and possible links between the accused and the wider smuggling network. Further questioning of the three arrested suspects could provide additional details about the operation and its financial channels.

(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)