Kolkata: The Railway Protection Force (RPF) carried out a raid at the Howrah railway station on Sunday and apprehended a man in possession of 22.64 kg of ganja.
This was part of the ongoing drive against narcotics trafficking by Eastern Railway (ER) as part of the government’s Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan.
“Acting on specific source information regarding the movement of narcotic substances through the station premises, an intensive preventive checking operation was conducted by the RPF Crime Intelligence Branch (CIB), Howrah, in coordination with local RPF officers. During the operation, RPF sniffer dog “MARCO” gave a positive indication toward a sky-blue trolley bag carried by a male passenger proceeding toward Platform number 8,” a senior official said.
The passenger was immediately detained near the platform and questioned. He was identified as Rabiyal (22). Originally from Cooch Behar in West Bengal, he is currently residing in North-West Delhi.
“A search of the trolley bag was carried out in the presence of senior officials and independent witnesses, revealing 11 tape-wrapped packets containing the contraband substance, weighing a total of 22.64 kg. A mobile phone and personal items carried by the individual were also taken into custody alongside the illegal drugs,” the official said.
The suspect failed to produce any valid licence, permit, or legal documentation for possessing or transporting the substance, and was arrested by the Government Railway Police (GRP), Howrah.
The arrest was made under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
Railway officials across the country have been instructed to maintain vigil on trains originating from drug-producing states such as Tripura and Odisha. Trains originating from some northeastern states that have international borders are also being kept under surveillance.
Recently, RPF and GRP personnel raided a coach of the Agartala-Anand Vihar Tejas Rajdhani Express at the Malda Town station and seized 42 kg of Ganja. Three persons were arrested.
Investigation revealed that they were on their way to sell the drugs in Bihar. “The man arrested from Howrah station is being interrogated to find out where he got the Ganja and what he planned to do with it. It is possible that he is part of a larger network. We will also seek help from the Delhi Police and other agencies to try and track down others involved in the racket,” an official said.
The action was lauded by ER general manager Geetika Pandey, who urged officials to remain alert at all times to prevent crime within railway premises and on trains.
Amiya Nandan Sinha, IG-cum-principal chief security commissioner, ER, took stock of the development and appreciated the effort to prevent the illegal trafficking of narcotics.
“Eastern Railway remains committed to maintaining zero tolerance towards illegal activities across all station premises and ensuring secure transit for passengers,” ER CPRO Shibram Majhi said.
(IANS)
