From correspondents in India, 10:30 PM IST

The Punjab police arrested two persons and recovered 900 grams of cocaine worth Rs.9 million in the international market from their possession, the police said Friday.

'On a tip-off, we arrested Kishan Singh and Bhagwan Singh, both residents of Rajasthan, from the Lalru railway station near Mohali town in Punjab,' Harinderjit Singh Sidhu, superintendent of police (operations), Mohali said.

'The third accused, Yogesh Kumar, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, managed to escape,' Sidhu said.

'The accused were waiting for a customer outside a hotel, opposite the railway station with a bag containing cocaine. However, the customer did not turn up for the deal,' added Sidhu.

'We have booked the accused under the Narcotics (NDPS) Act. Investigations are on and we are expecting to make more arrests,' he added.

Police sources said that it is suspected that the contraband was smuggled from Thailand as 'Tiger 555 Thailand' was printed on the packet.

This was the fourth major seizure of cocaine by the Mohali police in the last seven days. They have seized 4.020 kg of cocaine worth more than Rs.40 million in the last one week.

The police seized 960 grams and 930 grams of cocaine Sep 1 and Sep 3 respectively from two different places in Punjab.

The police also busted a high-profile drug trafficking racket Aug 29 involving a former defence official, two Haryana police officials and a Rajasthan police official.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)