Agartala, September 20: Five people were detained after police recovered Rs 40 lakh in cash from a Bolero during a naka checking operation at Durga Chowmuhani in Kamalpur subdivision on Saturday night.
Police said the checking was conducted under the joint supervision of Kamalpur Traffic In-charge Pankaj Debnath and Officer-in-Charge of Kamalpur police station Suman Acharya.
A private Bolero travelling from Dharmanagar towards Agartala was stopped for checking after police found the vehicle suspicious. During the search, officers recovered Rs 40 lakh in cash from inside the vehicle and detained all five occupants.
The detained persons are aged between 18 and 33, according to police.
During preliminary questioning, the five reportedly told police that the money was linked to areca nut business transactions. Police said discrepancies were found in their statements and the source of the cash is being verified.
The cash was counted using a currency-counting machine in the presence of Kamalpur subdivision DCM Aditi Das, SDPO Saurav Das, police officer Kapil Pal and other police personnel.
Police have started an investigation to establish the source of the money and determine whether others were involved in the transaction.
The seized cash and the five detained persons are scheduled to be produced before a court on Sunday, police said.
