Malda brown sugar bust: ₹4 crore drugs seized in Kaliachak, two held
Synopsis
Plainclothes officers in Malda's Kaliachak intercepted two young men at 1 am and recovered nearly 3 kilograms of brown sugar worth ₹4 crore — one of the larger single-haul seizures in the district this year. With seven-day custody granted, police are now working to crack open the supply chain behind the bust.
Key Takeaways
Kaliachak police seized 2.85 kg of brown sugar worth an estimated ₹4 crore on 12 August .
Accused identified as Nur Alam (21) and Sariqul Sheikh (28), residents of Kismatpur village, Malda.
Arrests made around 1 am in the Haruchak Matiali area after plainclothes surveillance.
Malda district court granted seven-day police custody against a request for 10 days.
Case registered under the NDPS Act, 1985 ; investigation aimed at tracing the supply source and network.
Kaliachak police station personnel in Malda district, West Bengal, seized approximately 2.85 kilograms of high-quality brown sugar — with an estimated street value of ₹4 crore — in the early hours of Wednesday, 12 August, arresting two alleged smugglers in the process. The operation, carried out on specific intelligence, marks another enforcement strike along one of West Bengal's most active drug-trafficking corridors.
How the Operation Unfolded
Police received information on Tuesday evening that a consignment of narcotics was to be moved through the Haruchak Matiali area of Kaliachak. Plainclothes officers were deployed across the locality in response. Around 1 am, two youths were noticed behaving suspiciously; when they failed to offer satisfactory explanations during questioning, officers searched them and recovered a substantial quantity of drugs from their bag.
The two were taken to the police station and formally arrested following initial interrogation. They were identified as Nur Alam (21) and Sariqul Sheikh (28), both residents of Srirampur area, Kismatpur village under the Kaliachak police station limits.
Court Orders Seven-Day Custody
The arrested duo were produced before the Malda district court on Wednesday. Police had requested 10-day custody to trace the supply chain, the intended destination, and any other individuals involved in the racket. According to court sources, the Chief Sessions Judge granted seven-day police custody. A case has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
What the Superintendent Said
Malda district Superintendent of Police Anupam Singh confirmed the seizure, stating: 'The police of Kaliachak police station have arrested two people with about three kilos of drugs. A police investigation has been started into the incident. The arrested were produced before the Malda district court today on a request for police custody. The district police are determined to stop the drug trade in this district. For that, police surveillance is going on across the district.'
Pattern of Trafficking in Malda
This is not an isolated incident. Kaliachak and the broader Malda district have long been flagged by enforcement agencies as a transit point for narcotics — particularly brown sugar — moving across the Bengal-Bihar-Jharkhand belt. The proximity to the international border with Bangladesh has historically made the region vulnerable to cross-border smuggling networks. This latest bust underscores that despite sustained surveillance, the supply chain remains active, pointing to a larger organised racket that police are now working to dismantle.
Investigators say custody of the two accused is critical to mapping the network upstream — identifying the supplier and the intended end-market. The outcome of that interrogation will determine whether further arrests follow in the coming days.
Point of View
Yet convictions that reach up the supply chain remain rare. Seven days of custody is a narrow window to crack an organised network. If this seizure ends at the two couriers without upstream arrests, it will follow a familiar pattern — high-value hauls, low-level takedowns, and a trafficking corridor that reconstitutes itself. The Superintendent's emphasis on district-wide surveillance suggests awareness of the structural problem; the test is whether the investigation produces network-level accountability this time.
NationPress
13 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What was seized in the Malda drug bust on 12 August?
Police seized approximately 2.85 kilograms of high-quality brown sugar with an estimated market value of ₹4 crore. The recovery was made from two individuals arrested in the Haruchak Matiali area of Kaliachak, Malda district.
Who were the two people arrested in the Kaliachak drug case?
The arrested individuals are Nur Alam, aged 21, and Sariqul Sheikh, aged 28, both residents of the Srirampur area of Kismatpur village under the Kaliachak police station limits in Malda district.
What legal action has been taken against the accused?
A case has been registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. The Malda district court granted seven-day police custody after police requested 10 days to investigate the supply chain.
Why is Malda district significant in drug trafficking cases?
Malda, particularly the Kaliachak area, has been repeatedly identified as a transit corridor for narcotics — especially brown sugar — moving across West Bengal, Bihar, and Jharkhand. Its proximity to the international border with Bangladesh is cited as a factor making the region vulnerable to smuggling networks.
What are police trying to establish through the custody period?
According to officials, police are using the custody period to trace the source of the drugs, identify the intended destination, and uncover other individuals involved in the trafficking racket.
