Lucknow, Sep 6 (IANS) Three men were arrested with an 'ashtadhatu' (eight-metal) idol worth Rs.5 crore in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar district, police said Monday.

The trio, in their mid-30s, were nabbed late Sunday evening from the district's Dhobha area, close to the Nepal order, in a joint operation carried out by police and the Special Operation Group (SOG). They worked for a Nepal-based racket involved in smuggling antique idols, police said.

'Of the three arrested, two are residents of Bihar, while one is from Uttar Pradesh. They were arrested while they were on their way to Nepal for handing over the idol to their gang members there,' police inspector Brijesh Verma told reporters Monday in Kushinagar, some 300 km from Lucknow.

'They said the Lord Shiva idol was smuggled out of Bihar,' he added.

'They have also provided vital clues about their accomplices operating in various districts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which would help us to bust the racket,' said Verma.