Police arrest Nepal couple with 4.917 kg opium worth 60 lakh rupees

Bahraich Police, in a major operation targeting illegal narcotics trafficking along the India-Nepal border, has arrested four people including a Nepali husband-wife duo and seized 4.917 kilograms of illegal opium valued at approximately 60 lakh rupees in the international market.

The arrests were made following a joint operation by Rupaideeha Police and the Sashastra Seema Bal when their combined team intercepted a traveller vehicle bearing registration number HP01A8898 on 09.09.2026. The vehicle was stopped near the old bus stand before Jaitapur crossing on the route from the India-Nepal border towards Bahraich.

The successful operation was conducted under the direct guidance of Bahraich Superintendent of Police Vishwajeet Srivastava, with supervision from Additional Superintendent of Police Rural Durga Prasad Tiwari and Circle Officer Nanpara Chitranshu Gautam. The ground operation was led by Officer-in-Charge Inspector Harendra Kumar Mishra.

When the police and SSB joint team stopped and checked the traveller vehicle, they found two Nepali nationals travelling as passengers. The arrested individuals have been identified as Chattan Basner and his wife Geeta Khatri. During the search, authorities recovered a total of 4.917 kilograms of illegal opium concealed inside a black-coloured bag in their possession.

The investigation revealed that Chattan Basner and Geeta Khatri were transporting the illegal opium with the active cooperation and assistance of the traveller vehicle driver Ram Kumar son of Tikaram and co-driver Devendra Budha son of Shridhan Bahadur Singh. All four individuals have been arrested in connection with the narcotics smuggling operation.

Chattan Basner is a resident of village Barekot Ward No. 05, Silingi police station area, Jajarkot district in Nepal. His wife Geeta Khatri shares the same address at village Barekot Ward No. 05, Silingi police station area, Jajarkot district, Nepal. The co-driver Devendra Budha son of Shridhan Bahadur Singh is a resident of Darlig Ward No. 4, Burti Banglo area in Bagmati Province, Nepal. The driver Rajkumar son of Tikaram is a resident of village Sinha Niwas North Oak Sanjauli R1T, Sanjauli police station area, Shimla district in Himachal Pradesh.

Following the recovery and arrests, a case numbered 241/2026 under sections 8/18/29/60 of the NDPS Act and section 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has been registered at Rupaideeha police station in Bahraich district. The four accused were taken into custody as per regulations and necessary legal proceedings have been completed against them.

In addition to the 4.917 kilograms of illegal opium, the police team also seized the traveller vehicle HP01A8898 that was being used for smuggling the contraband. Four mobile phones were recovered from the accused, including models Techno Spark 8, Poco C51, Oppo Rino 2Z and Oppo 17 Pro. The team also confiscated 4310 Nepali rupees and 6510 Indian rupees in cash from the arrested individuals.

The operation marks a significant success in the ongoing crackdown against illegal drug trafficking and was executed as part of the instructions issued by the Superintendent of Police to prevent trafficking and sale of illegal narcotics and to maintain a check on crime and criminals in the district.

The Rupaideeha police team that participated in the operation included Officer-in-Charge Inspector Harendra Kumar Mishra, Inspector Ganesh Tiwari, Sub-Inspector Dharmendra Singh, Head Constable Umesh Yadav, Constables Sovindra Yadav, Ravindra Yadav, Abhishek Singh and Abhishek Rai, and Woman Constables Niharika Maurya and Shalini Yadav.

The SSB team comprised Deputy Commandant Shashi Bhushan, SI/GD Bhupendra Singh, CT/GD Durgesh Kumar Shukla, CT/GD Vinod Kumar, CT/GD Pankaj Kumar, CT/GD Deendayal Chauhan, and Dog Handler CT/GD Saurabh Joshi with dog Maria from F Company 42 Battalion SSB Bahraich.

This is the first registered case against all four arrested accused, with case number 241/26 under sections 8/18/29/60 NDPS Act and 61(2) BNS at Rupaideeha police station, Bahraich district. After completion of legal formalities, all arrested accused have been sent for further proceedings before the honourable court.