Patna, Dec 12 (IANS): In a significant operation conducted jointly by the East Champaran Police and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), five individuals were arrested on Thursday for carrying highly refined heroin and a chemical in Bihar’s East Champaran district.

The raid took place in a village under Chhatauni police station, where two kilograms of a contraband substance and a chemical used in the refining of brown sugar production were seized. The international market value of the seized items is estimated to be ?7 crore.

“This operation was carried out in collaboration with the NCB. Five individuals have been arrested, and the contraband, along with a chemical, was recovered. The arrested individuals have been placed in judicial custody,” said East Champaran Superintendent of Police Swarn Prabhat.

He added that the operation was conducted across two areas: Chhatauni police station and Ramgarhwa police station.

“Among the arrested, two individuals hail from Vaishali district, while three are residents of Ramgarhwa,” he said.

He said that further investigations are expected to uncover additional details about the network involved in the smuggling.

Five accused have been identified as Sumit Kumar, Sarvesh Kumar Yadav, Rajrat Prasad, Ratnesh Kumar Mishra, and Dharamveer Kumar Pandey in connection with the smuggling of contraband.

“The joint team conducted a raid in a village that comes under Chhatauni police station and arrested two smugglers. They were carrying 2 kg of heroin in a Tata Punch car. Following their confession, we have arrested three more individuals from Ramgarhwa village and seized 5 litres of chemical,” Prabhat said.

An FIR has been filed under relevant sections of the NDPS act at the Chhatauni and Ramgarhwa police stations, and investigations are ongoing to uncover the identities of the handlers and the broader network involved.

East Champaran district is situated right on the edge of the Nepal border and the district SP confirmed that the contraband was smuggled from Nepal.