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Sonbhadra (UP), Jun 2 (PTI): Suspected drug smugglers hurled Rs 100 currency notes from their speeding car in a desperate attempt to distract police during a high-speed chase in Uttar Pradesh's Sonbhadra district, before one of them was arrested following an exchange of fire, officials said on Tuesday.

The officials said they made a narcotics haul worth nearly Rs 59 lakh in the dramatic pursuit that unfolded on the intervening night of Sunday-Monday on a highway in Sonbhadra, where police teams were conducting vehicle checks.

According to SP Abhishek Verma, a Honda City car ignored signals to stop and sped away, prompting Special Operations Group (SOG) personnel to give chase.

As the pursuit intensified, the suspects repeatedly rammed their vehicle into the police vehicle, rendering it unusable.

The chase resumed after a local, Pradeep Kumar Modanwal, offered his car to the police, Verma said.

In an apparent attempt to shake off their pursuers, the occupants of the fleeing car began throwing Rs 100 notes out of the windows onto the road, hoping to divert police’s attention.

"The suspects tried to distract the police by scattering currency notes from the moving vehicle, but the chase continued uninterrupted," Verma said.

Police eventually intercepted and surrounded the vehicle in the Chopan area. Once cornered, the suspects allegedly opened fire on the police team, triggering retaliatory firing in which one of the accused, Prince (27) from Ludhiana, was injured and arrested.

His accomplice managed to escape in the darkness, police said.

A search of the vehicle led to the recovery of 3 kg of opium and 225 kg of poppy husk with an estimated value of about Rs 49 lakh.

Police also seized the Honda City car, Rs 50,000 in cash, a country-made pistol and a spent cartridge. The total value of the recovery is estimated at Rs 58.75 lakh.

During interrogation, Prince told investigators that he was involved in transporting narcotics from Jharkhand to Punjab and had carried out similar consignments on multiple occasions in the past, police said.

The SP announced a reward of Rs 20,000 for the SOG team and Rs 10,000 for Modanwal for assisting the operation by providing his vehicle.

Efforts are underway to trace and arrest the absconding accused, police said. PTI COR KIS ARI

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)