Lucknow, Nov. 25 -- The UP STF on Monday arrested five members of an international drug trafficking syndicate and seized 635.5 kg of ganja worth Rs 1.5 crore, from a container truck and an SUV near Dubiyari Bridge on the Gorakhpur-Deoria road. The STF also recovered seven mobile phones, cash in Indian and Nepali currency, forged number plates, driving licences and a PAN card. Those arrested were Jitendra Yadav, 40, and Raju Yadav, 40, from Motihari (Bihar); Navraj Shrestha of Parsa (Nepal); Sunil Kumar Rai, 30, and Rajan Tiwari, 25, from West Champaran (Bihar). Dy SP, STF, Dharmesh Shahi, said months of intelligence gathering by the STF revealed a Nepal-Bihar-UP route being used to transport narcotics to various Indian states. Acting on these leads, STF units intensified surveillance across Purvanchal. During this operation, a tip-off alerted the STF that a container truck and a Scorpio-both loaded with large quantities of ganja-were travelling from Mugling, Nepal, towards Bihar. A joint team of STF and NCB, Gorakhpur intercepted both vehicles around 3:40 pm, leading to the arrest. Kingpin Jitendra Yadav said he procured the consignment jointly with Nepal-based trafficker Achhelal Yadav. The ganja was loaded into 41 packets concealed in specially designed cavities under the hood of the container truck at Mugling, Nepal, by Navraj Shrestha and others. Shrestha accompanied the truck till Sonauli border, after which driver Sunil Rai brought it to Gorakhpur and switched with another driver, Rajan Tiwari. The Scorpio, carrying Jitendra, Raju and Navraj, was travelling alongside the container. The trio also separated two packets from the main consignment to deliver independently as instructed by the Nepal-based handler. The accused revealed that they have been transporting narcotics through this route for several years. STF officials said further arrests are expected as the network's financial and logistical routes are being traced....