BENGALURU: An all-women squad of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) confiscated 640 gramd of the recreational narcotic Crystal Methamphetamine, worth nearly Rs 3.2 crore, from a train passenger on Friday, in one of the country’s largest drug seizures inside railway premises. After disembarking from the Prashanti Express at Hindupur station in the Bengaluru Railway Division, the accused was apprehended.
According to a top railway source, the 44-year-old passenger, an Odisha native, was travelling in the general carriage of the Prashanti Express with the narcotic commonly known as Crystal Meth disguised in his rucksack, to be delivered in Odisha. The popular party drug known as ice or glass is highly addictive and has a negative impact on the central nervous system.
On October 1, train no. 18464 left Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna (Bengaluru City) station for Bhubaneshwar at 1.50 p.m. According to the source, a six-member team of the RPF’s Shakti unit was patrolling on board, specifically created for the safety of female passengers.
The squad’s leader, Assistant Sub Inspector Tanuja M P, quickly alerted her teammates to encircle him.The passenger was turned over to the Government Railway Police and charged under Section 20 (b) of the Narcotics, Narcotics, and Psychotropic Substances Act, which makes it illegal to transport or possess illegal drugs. Before nabbing the passenger, the women’s team had also seized 480 bottles of liquor transported illegally on the same train valued Rs 50,822.