Lucknow: Customs and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel arrested two men carrying 13.62 tonnes of metal ash allegedly smuggled from Nepal into India through the Sonauli border in Maharajganj in a truck.Acting on a tip-off, a joint Customs-SSB team intercepted a DCM truck arriving from Nepal near the border check-post late Saturday.A search of the truck led to the recovery of several sacks containing an ash-like substance. The consignment weighed 13,620 kg when checked at a weighbridge.The arrested men were identified as Sharif Ahmad of Sant Kabir Nagar and Mohammad Kamran of Bahraich. During questioning, they allegedly told investigators that the consignment had been loaded in Kathmandu and was being transported to Sant Kabir Nagar via the Bhairahawa-Sonauli route.Officials said the truck had been declared empty at the border and no documents relating to the cargo were produced during the inspection.The vehicle and consignment were seized, and action has been initiated under the Customs Act, 1962.
