BENGALURU: A total of 24kg of ganja was seized in raids on six trains, in a crackdown against smuggling of narcotic substances by Indian Railways. Nine people have been arrested so far under ‘Operation Narcos’, jointly conducted by the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF). The seized ganja has a market value of Rs 3.69 lakh.
GRP SP D R Siri Gowri said, “This is an ongoing drive which commenced on September 20. Our focus is on trains entering the City from Eastern regions. Four of the seizures were made in Prashanti Express (Train no. 18463) which accounted for 11.28kg of ganja.” The biggest seizure of the operation so far was from Seshadri Express (Train no. 17210), coming from Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh.
“Ten kg of ganja, valued at Rs 1.5 lakh, was seized from an individual when the train stopped at Bengaluru Cantonment,” she said. An RPF source said the raids resumed with intensity following a lull during the Dasara period.
The other train from which ganja was seized was the Guwahati-Sir M Visvesvariah Terminal (Train no. 12510) with 2.9kg being smuggled on board. “Three persons were caught with marijuana from the Bangarpet to Baiyappanahalli section,” she said. The seizures were made at Yelahanka, KSR Railway Station and Cantonment Station. All the nine arrested were booked under Section 20(B) of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychoactive Substances Act.