Police in Malda have seized an illegal consignment of MDMA (methylenedioxymethamphetamine), popularly known in rave party circles as “Molly” or “Ecstasy”, on Sunday night.

Two persons were arrested from the Kalikapur area under the Kaliachak police station limits with 453 grams of MDMA worth over ₹1 crore.

Police sources said the arrested duo were Md Samaul Sheikh of Bamangram and Mobarak Hossain of Rajnagar Model area.

Malda SP Avijit Banerjee said they acted on a tip-off.

“This is only the second seizure of this variety of drugs in the district. Both of them will be taken into custody for interrogation to trace the source and intended destination of the drugs,” he said.

MDMA is roughly six times more expensive than brown sugar (a derivative of heroin).

Senior police officers noted that MDMA, widely used in the south American countries like Mexico and Colombia, was a popular stimulant in rave parties.

Probe indicates that the consignment of MDMA may have been brought into Malda from Bangladesh, with potential trafficking routes extending to Jharkhand and Nepal, among others.

Brown sugar haul

Darjeeling police seized 3.3 kilos of brown sugar valued at over ₹3 crore, from a car in Muraliganj on the outskirts of Siliguri on Sunday.

Sources said that cops intercepted a car bearing a Bihar registration number while it was heading towards Siliguri.

Alok Kumar Ravikar, formerly with the BSF, was driving the car. Cops found the brown sugar concealed in a cavity behind the numberplate. Ravikar, who is from Bihar’s Katihar, has been arrested.