Malda: Malda district police arrested one of the kingpins of an interstate drug trafficking racket, Enarul Haque, along with his close associate and uncle, Sowkat Sheikh, from an apartment in an upscale residential complex under Entally police station limits, Calcutta, on Monday evening.

Police sources said that acting on specific intelligence inputs, a team of Malda police, in coordination with the Kolkata police, conducted a joint operation and apprehended the duo from their hideout in Calcutta. They were brought to Malda on Tuesday.

Describing the arrest as an achievement, Malda superintendent of police Avijit Banerjee said on Tuesday that Enarul was the mastermind behind the entire illegal narcotics operation.

“Enarul was the central figure controlling the clandestine narcotics trade in Malda, branching out to the Northeast states as well as Bihar and Jharkhand. He was directly involved in sourcing raw materials from Manipur and some other states and training many youths to manufacture brown sugar (a derivative of heroin) by processing these materials,” said the SP.

The arrests mark a big success in the ongoing anti-narcotics operation launched by the police about one-and-a-half months ago. Enarul, who was among the “most wanted” criminals, had evaded arrest on multiple occasions by frequently changing his hideouts.

SP Banerjee said that the Malda drug syndicate flourished under Enarul’s direct patronage, with a network of peddlers distributing the finished narcotics in and around the district as well as outside Bengal.

“He had absolute control over the entire chain — from production to distribution,” Banerjee added.

Apart from narcotics-related offences, Enarul was also wanted in multiple cases involving gang wars, illegal arms hoarding, and other serious crimes.

The SP further revealed that Enarul had amassed huge wealth from the narcotics trade and allegedly laundered the proceeds through real estate ventures, contract businesses and other enterprises.

“We are collecting details of his business interests. A thorough inquiry to ascertain his assets and the volume of money generated from the drugs trade may be initiated with the assistance of relevant agencies,” Banerjee said.

Sowkat, Enarul’s uncle, was his trusted aide, assisting him in expanding and sustaining the illegal trade, said sources.

Both of them were produced at a local court in Malda on Tuesday and were remanded to police custody for eight days for further interrogation.

The police have also identified several individuals who allegedly provided shelter and logistical support to Enarul.

“Some prominent people are under our scanner,” said a police officer.