VIJAYAWADA/ R’VARAM/VISAKHAPATNAM: In a joint operation by Elite Anti-Narcotics Group for Law Enforcement (EAGLE), Railway Protection Force (RPF), and Government Railway Police (GRP), a man (29) was arrested and ganja chocolates and ganja were seized on Thursday.
EAGLE chief Ake Ravi Krishna and his team, Eluru law and order police, RPF, and GRP participated in the surprise inspections on trains as part of a drive to check trains and ensure no narcotic substances are transported.
Divided into various teams, the officials boarded the Coromandel Express in Eluru and inspected all train coaches thoroughly. When the EAGLE chief inspected the luggage of passengers in the S4 coach, he found ganja converted into a round shape and wrapped in chocolate covers.
The man was taken into custody and the ganja was seized. He was later brought to Vijayawada railway station and handed over to Vijayawada GRP police. “Along with the accused Subhash Kumar Yadav, four others were travelling to Chennai. The accused used to work in a tea stall and purchased the ganja chocolates from a shop in his village for personal consumption,” said the GRP police. A case was registered against him and he will be produced in court on Friday.
On the other hand, as part of Operation Vijay, the EAGLE conducted surprise inspections at Eluru Railway Station on Thursday. Ravi Krishna and Eluru SP K Pratap Siva Kishore led the checks to curb illegal transportation of cannabis and narcotics through trains.
Ravi said 21,736 kg of cannabis has been seized across AP so far. He noted that cannabis cultivation has been fully eradicated in the ASR district using drone and satellite technology. Surveillance has been imposed on 359 individuals across 370 villages, while 10,256 farmers have received seeds to grow 22 alternative crops across 4.6 lakh hectares. Despite efforts, some cannabis is still smuggled from Odisha via trains. The EAGLE has launched a toll-free number, 1972, for reporting illegal transport. Five NDPS cases registered and assets worth `7 crore have been seized.
Meanwhile, under the Joint Rail-Based Operation, Araku Valley Police, GRP, RPF, and Dog Squad teams checked 13 train coaches at Araku Station, detaining suspicious persons.