Police arrested five individuals and confiscated 210 kg of marijuana after firing two warning shots to prevent suspects from escaping during a morning operation in Dharan, Sunsari.
The arrests occurred around 3 am on Monday in the Chyandanda area of Ward No. 20, where the suspects were loading marijuana into two SUVs.
Authorities acted on a tip about a suspected drug trafficking operation. When police arrived, the suspects attempted to flee with the vehicles.
Two warning shots were fired before the suspects were apprehended.
During the search, officers discovered 210 kg of marijuana packed in eight bundles inside the vehicles, which were also seized. The vehicles had registration numbers Ba 1 Cha 5038 and Ko 1 Cha 8182.
The five arrested individuals are:
- Ramasagar Kumar Yadav, 24, from Dakneshwori Municipality-10, Saptari.
- Rajendra Prasad Mandal, 45, from Rajgadh Rural Municipality-1, Saptari.
- Santosh Thakur, 38, from Madhubani District, Bihar, India.
- Rajkumar Shah, 59, from Chhinnamasta Rural Municipality-6, Saptari.
- Amrit Bishunkhe, 21, from Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City-11, Sunsari.
Yadav was identified as the driver of the vehicle with registration number Ba 1 Cha 5038, while Shah drove the second vehicle, Ko 1 Cha 8182. The roles of the other three suspects remain undisclosed.
All five suspects are in custody for further investigation. Authorities are looking into how the drugs were acquired and whether other individuals were involved.