Police in Malda busted a narcotics-making unit on Monday and seized nearly 17 kilos of brown sugar worth around ₹17 crore and ₹8.78 lakh in cash during the raid.

Five persons, including three women, were arrested.

Police sources said that Abhishek Bhattacharjee, a sub-inspector posted at the Englishbazar police station of the district, got a tip-off that a huge quantity of brown sugar (a derivative of heroin) had been stored in a godown owned by one Mahibuba Khatun at Kumarpur.

Accordingly, Bhattacharjee and his team raided the address and found a garage there, not a godown. However, the main premise of the tip-off proved to be correct.

There, they arrested Mahibuba, as well as Gourav Sah and Dipak Kumar from Purnea district of Bihar, Anita Kumari from Samastipur, also Bihar, and Mahomunda Bibi of Kumarpur.

Police sources said the persons from Bihar used to collect the brown sugar from Kumarpur to smuggle it to various parts of Bihar.

“They had come to buy the narcotics and were caught,” said a police officer.

“The team conducted a search in the presence of an executive magistrate and recovered 16.998 kilos of brown sugar and ₹8,78,500 in cash,” said Malda SP Avijit Banerjee on Tuesday.

One kilo of brown sugar sells for around ₹1 crore in the grey market.

Additionally, 20 kilos of sodium carbonate, 25 kilos of lime hydroxide and 80 litres of water were seized from the spot, he added. A punching machine, an electronic weighing scale and some apparatuses and utensils used for making narcotics were also found.

Furthermore, two SUVs and a motorcycle were impounded from the spot.

“We suspect a narcotics-making unit was being run in the garage. Our officers will interrogate those arrested for more information,” the SP said.

All five accused have been booked under the NDPS Act and relevant sections of the BNS.

On Tuesday, they were produced at a local court. The court heard the case and ordered them seven days in police custody.