A 19-year-old smuggler was apprehended with 100 grams of illegal smack, valued at Rs 80 lakh, near the India-Nepal border in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, during a joint operation by the Uttar Pradesh Police and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) on July 8, 2025. The arrest took place near Rupaideha’s border pillar 651/2, as the suspect attempted to cross into Nepal via a railway track.

Additional Superintendent of Police (Rural) Durga Prasad Tiwari, addressing a press conference on July 9, credited the operation to an anti-narcotics drive led by Superintendent of Police Ram Nayan Singh. The accused, identified as Rajan alias Raja Awasthi from Barabanki district, was caught during a routine patrol. The seized smack, a potent opioid, was intended for smuggling into Nepal, highlighting the persistent challenge of cross-border drug trafficking.

Awasthi has been charged under Sections 8/21 of the NDPS Act and remanded to judicial custody. Authorities are interrogating him to uncover his network, with ongoing coordination with Nepalese security agencies to dismantle the smuggling ring. The operation underscores intensified border vigilance to curb narcotics trafficking in the region.

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