BENGALURU: In one of the biggest drug busts made in the country inside railway premises, an all-women team of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) on Friday seized 640 grams of the recreational drug Crystal Methamphetamine, worth nearly Rs 3.2 crore, from a train passenger. He was arrested after he alighted from the Prashanti Express at Hindupur station in the Bengaluru Railway Division.
The 44-year-old passenger, a native of Odisha, was travelling in the general coach of Prashanti Express, with the drug popularly called Crystal Meth concealed in his backpack, to be delivered in Odisha, said a top railway source. The popular party drug, also known as `ice’ or `glass’, is highly addictive and affects the central nervous system.
Train no. 18464 had departed from Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna (Bengaluru City) station to Bhubaneshwar at 1.50 pm on October 1. A six-member team of RPF’s Shakti unit, specially constituted for safety of women passengers, was patrolling on board, the source said. “The body language of the passenger aroused suspicion among the cops and they put him on watch immediately. As soon as the train reached Hindupur station, around 4 pm, he alighted and started moving in the opposite direction from the cops who also got down there, ” the source explained.
Assistant Sub Inspector, Tanuja M P, heading the team, immediately alerted her team members to surround him. “He was cornered at the platform after a chase of 600 meters. He was taken to the RPF post at Yesvantpur by road around 9.30 pm. On sustained interrogation by top cops, he claimed that he was only a carrier of the drug to be delivered to someone in Odisha. The consignment was sealed in a packet inside the bag.”
Divisional Railway Manager, Bengaluru Division, Shyam Singh lauded the RPF for the work. “It is one of the biggest seizures in the recent past and is a fantastic job done by the RPF Shakti team. Following this incident, I have instructed my commercial team officers and the RPF to stay extra vigilant,” he said.
The passenger was handed over the Government Railway Police and has been booked under Section 20 (b) of the Narcotics Drug and Psychotropic Substances Act which penalises transport or possesion of banned drugs.
Before nabbing the passenger, the women’s team had also seized 480 bottles of liquor transported illegally on the same train.