Two arrested, ganja seized at railway station in Gadag

Officers of the Railway Protection Force arrested two men and confiscated 6.5 kg of ganja valued at ₹6.46 lakh at the Gadag Railway Station.

During a special drive under Operation NARCOS, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel at Gadag Railway Station noticed two men aged about 20 sitting on Platform No 1 with two backpacks and acting in a suspicious manner.

On questioning, they came to know that both of them are residents of Dharwad district. On checking their bags, two bundles wrapped in grey and brown tape were found, suspected to contain dry ganja.

The matter was immediately passed on to the Excise Department and Excise Sub-Inspector, Gadag Range, arrived at the station.

Upon weighing, the seized substance was found to be 6.465 kg of dry ganja, valued at ₹6,46,500.

After completion of all necessary legal formalities, the contraband was seized and both the accused men were handed over to the Excise officials for further legal action.

The RPF personnel who were on the team that seized the contraband are Assistant Sub-Inspector Mohammed Munaf and Head Constable M.N. Kalled.

The RPF has been empowered to conduct search, seize and arrest offenders under the NDPS Act since April 2019. It has been actively participating in the efforts of the government to restrict this illegal trade.

In order to bring attention to the menace of NDPS, a pan India drive against smuggling of narcotics through rail was launched under code name Operation NARCOS in June 2022.

Under this operation, RPF has performed excellently against carriers/transporters of narcotics product through Indian Railways.

RPF has intensified its checks in trains and in identified blackspots across the country in coordination with NCB and other law enforcement agencies to target drug peddlers involved in this illegal trade, said a release.