Rs 7 crore cash, drugs, liquor, gold worth Rs 140 crore seized in Bengal

Gold, drugs, liquor and various goods worth about Rs 140 crore and over Rs 7 crore in cash have been seized in West Bengal since the announcement of Lok Sabha election dates this month, an official said on Saturday.

According to data released by the Election Commission, the amount of cash seized till Saturday was around Rs 7.87 crore.
He said the Election Commission also seized 12.7 lakh liters of liquor with a market value of Rs 33.86 crore.
“Drugs weighing approximately 3.5 kg worth Rs 18.28 crore were also seized,” he said.
The Election Commission also seized yellow metal worth Rs 27.32 crore during this period, the official said.
“So far, we have also seized goods worth about Rs 36 crore and the total seizure is Rs 147.19 crore, which also includes unaccounted cash,” he said.
Offering money and liquor to buy votes has been prevalent for many years.
The Election Commission has declared six Lok Sabha constituencies in West Bengal as ‘economically sensitive’.
Meanwhile, Kolkata Police on Friday seized about 15 kg of gold bars worth Rs 82 lakh during a naka checking in Jorabagan area in the northern part of the city and arrested five people traveling in a vehicle, an official said. Did.
He said preliminary investigation revealed that the gold bars were smuggled from neighboring Bangladesh from the border area of North 24 Parganas district.
He said, “It seems that these gold bars were smuggled through the Bangladesh border. We are trying to find out whether this consignment was meant for some agent linked to a gold smuggling racket in Kolkata. Or not.”