70,000 Burmese cigarettes seized, 3 held in North Tripura

In a significant crackdown against contraband smuggling, Dharmanagar police in North Tripura district seized a large consignment of Burmese cigarettes late on Saturday night during a naka checking drive at the Anandabazar SPO Camp.

A car bearing registration number TR05-G-0597 was intercepted and thoroughly searched, leading to the recovery of seven cartons containing 70,000 Burmese cigarettes. Each cartoon reportedly contained 10,000 cigarettes.

Suleman Reang, the officer on night duty from Dharmanagar Police Station, led the operation and detained three individuals along with the vehicle and cigerettes.

The arrested have been identified as Saurav Sinha from Damcherra area, and Prakash Debnath and Biswajit Debnath from Jamtila of Panisagar.

According to police sources, this seizure is part of an ongoing operation to curb Burmese cigarette smuggling across North Tripura.

Notably, in March this year, 40 cartons of Burmese cigarettes were recovered following a vehicle accident in the Rajnagar area.

However, no arrests were made at that time, though two suspects were later detained in connection with the case.

The police have confirmed that legal proceedings have been initiated against the arrested trio, and the drive against contraband smuggling will continue across the district.