Rly cops seized over 105kg drugs in 2024

A total of 31 cases were registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and 39 people were arrested in these cases.

The Government Railway Police (GRP) at the Ludhiana Junction here recovered around 59 kg opium, 24 kg ganja, 22.5 kg charas and 25 gram heroin in 2024.

The Government Railway Police (GRP) at the Ludhiana Junction here recovered around 59 kg opium, 24 kg ganja, 22.5 kg charas and 25 gram heroin in 2024. (HT File)

They also recovered 7.14 kg poppy husk and 530 pills including anti-anxiety medication Alprazolam, and painkillers like Tramadol and Lomotil, which can only be procured with a proper medical prescription.

A total of 31 cases were registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPC) Act and 39 people were arrested in these cases.

This is less than half of the recovery in 2023. The station at the Ludhiana Junction recovered over 98 kg of ganja, over 58 kg of opium and 27 kg of poppy husk and over 14,000 pills during the year 2023.

GRP SHO inspector Jatinder Singh explained that the fall in recoveries was due to the increased checking in the trains by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) to crack down on gold and cash trafficking.

He claimed that the recoveries may have come down, but the number of first investigation reports (FIR) registered under the act were almost the same.

“Last year the RPF increased its checking operations on the trains to crack down on gold and cash trafficking. This alerted the traffickers, and they chose to avoid moving drugs on trains,” said the SHO.

The SHO also claimed that the high number of operations and recoveries in 2023 also made trafficking via trains a less appealing option to the smugglers.

“Whenever there are high recoveries and arrests in a year, the following year sees less of these recoveries and the traffickers employ more caution,” he added.

Another reason behind the dip in recoveries is the shifting of some long-distance trains going to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and other faraway places to the Dhandari Kalan station which has less checking as compared to Ludhiana station.

The railways had shifted nine odd Bihar and UP bound trains to Dhandari last year.

“Most of the recoveries are made in long distance trains and some of them are now going via Dhandari Kalan instead. That could also be one of the reasons,” said the inspector.